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Crisis deepens in Bihar, Secular forces in disarray

By Arun Srivastava. Dated: 7/20/2017 1:40:47 PM

Nitish realises alliance has outlived its utility for him

After the Mahagathbandhan of the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress defeated the ascendant Bharatiya Janata Party in the Bihar elections of 2015, political circles had veered round the view that the opposition's efforts to regroup at the national level will unite around these parties. But such possibilities have become a causality of the war of attrition between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav, the leaders of JD(U) and RJD.
These are the two parties that could have resisted the saffron attack. But with both the leaders pitching against each other, the optimism lies shattered on the streets of Patna. Distrust for each oher has gripped these two leaders to such an extent that any reconciliation appears to be an absolutely remote possibility.
The political narrative and ground realities have undergone a significant transformation in the space of a fortnight. Nitish has been waiting for the culmination of the presidential election. Once the election is over, the BJP leadership is expected to focus on the nature and character of its relation with Nitish. The BJP leadership has not been in a hurry though it is eager to exploit the situation to its fullest advantage.
Since his stakes are quite high, Nitish is unwilling to subscribe to the suggestions of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. His soft pedaling on the issue, after his initial order to Tejashwi, is merely a public façade. He does not intend to send the message that he was ignoring the suggestion of Sonia Gandhi. In fact, JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi had described the talks between Sonia and Nitish a "happy sign" but intriguingly the party's Bihar leaders went on the offensive to mount pressure on Tejashwi to resign. It is an open secret that nothing can move in JD(U) without the approval of Nitish. Obviously this was Nitish's style to rebut Sonia.
For Nitish the Mahagathbandhan has outlived its importance and relevance. The experience of running the the grand alliance has convinced him that he has no future by continuing to be a constituent. He must try to evolve new equations and form new relations.
The allegation of corruption by the CBI against the deputy chief minister was not so acute that it could become the issue of contention between Nitish and Lalu. He had, in fact, denied his involvement citing his age. But he is held responsible for accepting the directorship after turning adult. True enough, the allegation is more of a political nature than it involves monetary transaction.
One thing is explicit that for obvious political exigencies Nitish has acted fast. Being the architect of the alliance and also the chief minister, he should have treaded cautiously. Charges against Tejashwi were not of the magnitude of the fodder scam. If Nitish could enter into alliance with Lalu, float Mahagathbadhan and run his alliance government, even after Lalu still appearing before the CBI courts in the fodder scam cases, the chief minister could have given sufficient time to Tejashwi to explain his stand and alleged involvement in the illegal activity. But he preferred to act.
None would suggest Nitish to have his image sullied and maligned for protecting Tejashwi, but Nitish must explain to the people of state whether he has been really in possession of clinching evidences against Tejashvi. So far CBI has not mustered courage to charge sheet him. If the CBI has clinching evidences against Tejaswi, what for is it waiting? It must put him in the docks.
Lalu is not a naïve to understand the legal intricacies of the CBI action. His reluctance to allow his son to resign simply ought not to be taken as an act of defiance of Nitish's order. It is more than that. Lalu is aware that CBI was being used politically to finish the political career of his son before it blossoms. Which was why a couple of days ago he outrightly rejected Nitish's order to Tejashwi to resign. He categorically said; "Tejashwi Yadav istifa nahi denge. FIR darj hone se koi istifa nahi deta hai (Tejashwi Yadav will not resign. No one resigns because of an FIR). RJD ki or se gatbandhan mein koi aaanch nahi aayega, jisko jo karna hai kar le (There will not be any problem to the Grand Alliance from the RJD. Let anyone do what he wants)".
Tejashwi resigning from the cabinet would invariably imply that he has accepted the charge of being involved in the land scam. This would entail dancing to the tunes of the BJP, which Lalu certainly abhors. The BJP pressurising Nitish to act decisively and fast has simply strengthened the feeling that was fighting a proxy war on behalf of Nitish. Else, there was no reason for it to mount pressure on him.
Nevertheless, Lalu is not in a hurry. He would prefer to buy his own time. He has been at the receiving end. Obviously he has little choice. Meanwhile, some old friends of both the leaders and even Sonia Gandhi are said to be in favour of Lalu giving a categorical assurance to Nitish that he would not interfere into the government functioning and replace Tejashwi with Lalu's daughter Rohini Acharya. At least through this mechanism Lalu can think of holding on to power and keep BJP at a distance. But the prevailing ground situation provides the insight that the grand alliance in Bihar was on the brink of collapse and the process of its disintegration may gather momentum after presidential elections. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that it has been impacting personal relations. Shockingly Nitish and Tejashvi are not at talking terms.
That Nitish is out to break the mahagathbandhan and torpedo opposition unity was recently revealed by BJP leader Sushil Modi, who has been spearheading the crusade against Lalu and his family. Modi confessed that some people in the JD(U), who are in the present government, and some bureaucrats helped him with papers.
—(IPA Service)