Patna: The growing bonhomie between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, who heads the opposition in the assembly, has political circles abuzz.
The relationship between the two former allies has been strained since Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) quit its ‘grand alliance’ with the Congress and the RJD in 2017. Tejashwi, who served as Nitish’s deputy in the erstwhile grand alliance government, has since taken many pointed jibes at the chief minister, even labelling him “paltu chacha (u-turn uncle)”.
But the situation has changed over the past few days of the ongoing Bihar assembly budget session, with a prime example being Nitish’s decision to side with the RJD and support a resolution against the BJP’s proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR) in its current form.
What’s brought about this softening is anyone’s guess. While some observers suggest it might be part of Nitish’s attempt to put ally BJP on edge ahead of seat-sharing discussions for this year’s assembly polls, others point out that the RJD may be looking at a reunion. The JD(U), however, has sought to clarify that the BJP has nothing to worry about.
Also Read: RJD wants to run Bihar alliance on its own terms this time, but others not playing ball
‘Nitish… like my guardian’
The Bihar assembly session started on a stormy note, with MLAs of the BJP-JD(U) coalition and the RJD almost coming to blows over the CAA-NRC-NPR. However, earlier this week, Nitish surprised the opposition benches by orchestrating the unanimous passage of a resolution against the NRC and the NPR (in its current form).
Tejashwi had earlier moved an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on NRC-NPR-CAA.
In the ensuing debate, Nitish told the House that the NRC was not required in Bihar and the NPR should be on the 2010 format (when the form didn’t seek to know the birth details of one’s parents).
He subsequently met Tejashwi in his chamber and got him to accept a two-sentence resolution and had it passed unanimously, even by BJP MLAs.
On Wednesday, Nitish got another resolution passed unanimously — this one asking the central government to conduct a caste-based census, a long-standing demand of the RJD.
The gestures have been reciprocated by the RJD — the MLAs of the party listened quietly as Nitish presented his reply to the debate on the governor’s address.
In the past, it has been a tradition among the opposition to walk out of the House mid-way during the government’s reply.
An RJD MLA told ThePrint that he “started to get up but senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui gestured that I sit down”.
Inside the House, Tejashwi declared, “Nitish Kumar, on a personal level, is like my guardian and I respect him. But it is because of him that I am the leader of the opposition. I am carrying out the duty of an opposition.”
Asked about the “cosy relationship”, RJD MLA Md Neputullah said, “In politics, anything can happen any time.”
Ever since Nitish’s walkout from the grand alliance, there have been several occasions where senior RJD leaders have made an open appeal to the Bihar CM to return to the fold. But Tejashwi opposed the move and declared that the gates of the coalition were closed to Nitish forever. However, there is a growing awareness in the RJD that defeating the NDA in Bihar would be difficult without Nitish.
“Now, Tejashwi may be regretting his decision to oppose ‘Chacha Nitish Kumar’. But at this stage, Nitish appears to have used him to his political advantage,” said a second RJD MLA who didn’t wish to be named.
A third MLA added, “On Wednesday, Nitish invited Tejashwi to have tea at the Speaker’s chamber and, after half an hour, gave a speech in the state legislative council where the RJD rule in Bihar was criticised.”
The MLA wondered if Tejashwi, the leader of the RJD while his father Lalu Prasad is in jail, was being “used by Nitish” to put pressure on the BJP to let the JD(U) contest a larger number of seats in the October-November assembly elections.
Also Read: JD(U) & BJP need each other in Bihar election. So who gains from Nitish Kumar’s NRC move?
Jitters in BJP
The newfound warmth between Tejashwi and Nitish is believed to have triggered jitters in the BJP. MLAs of the BJP believe the NRC vote was thrust upon them and, amid this atmosphere of resentment, the thaw has led to suspicion.
However, senior leaders of the NDA have gone on the record to rule out the possibility of Nitish switching over.
“When the BJP is accepting every demand of Nitish, why should he switch over?” Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who heads another Bihar NDA ally, the Lok Janshakti Party, told journalists in Delhi earlier this week.
State JD(U) chief Basistha Narayan Singh told ThePrint that there were “no political implications of these meetings”.
“Opposition leaders also meet PM Modi. The JD(U)-BJP alliance is on a firm footing. The BJP should not worry and there should be no hope emerging in the RJD.”
RJD agenda ‘hijacked’
Some leaders in the RJD also see Nitish’s support for the NRC-NPR resolution as a “masterstroke” to strip the opposition of a key campaign plank ahead of elections.
Over the past two months, the RJD has staged statewide processions and dharnas against the NRC, the NPR and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which Nitish supports, calling the chief minister a “BJP stooge” for backing the law in Parliament.
“By getting us to support a resolution on the issue that was proposed by Nitish Kumar, he has blunted our attack on him and the BJP in the assembly polls,” said the third unnamed RJD MLA quoted above.
“Several Muslim organisations have already issued statements hailing Nitish Kumar. Nitish appears to have succeeded in diluting the anger of the Muslims towards him. Even the caste census resolution works in Nitish’s favour. We raised the issue much before Nitish. It was one of our tools to dub the NDA government anti-backward caste and anti-Dalit. That issue has also been diluted,” the MLA added.
“Nitish has not only prevented the BJP from raising these issues to communalise the atmosphere during the 2020 assembly polls but also taken away our issues,” the MLA said.
The RJD, JD(U) and the Congress had contested the 2015 assembly elections together and won, but Nitish’s party switched sides, paving the way for the NDA’s return in Bihar. The RJD had emerged as the biggest player in the election, winning 80 of the state’s 243 seats. The JD(U) had won 71.
Also Read: How Nitish Kumar got Bihar BJP to oppose NRC and back UPA-era NPR format