Shams Khan
Amid indications of declining its political clout, the JDU (Janata Dal United) is taking several moves that indicate its resolve to secure a Big-Brother role in the NDA during the upcoming Bihar election. On Saturday, a pre-scheduled meeting between BJP President J P Nadda and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was cancelled. Reportedly, it occurred due to Nitish Kumar’s illness, yet it has sparked rumors that all is not well between Nitish and the BJP.
Speaking to The News Web, a Patna-based political observer on the condition of anonymity said, “In the past also Nitish Kumar proved to be a hard bargainer, and before the seat-sharing deal in the NDA, JDU had started putting pressure on the BJP.”
Recently, on at least two assembly seats, JDU has unilaterally announced candidates. First, on September 6 in Rajpur of Buxar during the NDA workers summit, Nitish called Former Minister Santosh Nirala on the stage, where Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present. He requested the crowd to support Nirala in the upcoming assembly election.
On September 9, in Kesaria, Motihari, in the presence of Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, JDU leader Ashok Chaudhary told the media that from Kesaria, the sitting MLA, Shalini Mishra, will remain the party face.
According to reports, the Nitish Kumar party wants more seats than the BJP, even if the lead is by a single seat. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly Election, JDU fought on 115 seats while BJP fielded 110 candidates.
However, the story is different in the Lok Sabha elections. Although the JDU keeps it tight, it does not impose a condition to fight for more seats than the BJP. In the 2024 general election, the BJP contested on 17 seats while the JDU contested on 16. In 2019, both parties contested 17 seats.
Moreover, Nitish Kumar’s party is also mindful of the damage that Chirag Paswan caused during the last assembly election. Then, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, despite being part of the NDA, fielded candidates primarily for assembly seats that fell under the JDU quota. This has created confusion among voters and led to a reduction in the JDU tally to 43 seats.
As Chirag’s party, the LJP Ram Vilas, is once again staking claims for around 40 seats, the JDU views that dragging seat sharing to the last minute may again open the gate for confusion. Moreover, two other NDA constituents, Hindustani Awami Morcha of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha, are bargaining for 18-20 seats. Manjhi announced on Sunday that if he does not secure 20 seats, he will contest for 100 seats.
Meanwhile, JDU leader Divyanshu Bhardwaj has put his weight behind the Motihari seat. A few days ago, Health Minister Mangal Pandey and BJP MP Radhamohan Singh had publicly announced that the sitting MLA, Pramod Kumar, will be the NDA candidate from Motihari.
Lately, the BJP has assumed the role of senior partner in the state. In the present Bihar government, 21 cabinet positions are held by the BJP, while the JDU holds 13. However, the JDU appears to be working on turning the tables.
(Shams Khan is a Political Analyst based in Patna. The views are personal.)
