Bihar is in political turmoil very similar to what happened in Maharastra a few days ago.
But this time political instability has affected BJP as it is on the verge of losing power in Bihar as its largest ally in Bihar JDU has left the coalition.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided to break off the alliance with the BJP.
Kumar meet Governor Phagu Chauhan today to tender his resignation as the Chief Minister of the state.
Governor Phagu Chauhan
Credits:- Times Of India
He has subsequently formed a Mahagathbandhan of various parties and is the head of the same.
This is the second time in 8 years both the parties have split.
Turmoil has started brewing between the two parties since the announcement of the Agneepath scheme.
The BJP had also sent Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan to meet Kumar a few times in recent months to defuse the crisis.
The BJP also believed that Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion at a recent meeting of the state party leaders in Patna that its alliance with the JD(U) will continue for the next Lok Sabha as well assembly polls in 2024 and 2025, would help to save the alliance.
But BJP leaders ignoring JDU’s demands and diminishing the powers of Nitish Kumar was the final nail in the coffin of the relationship.
Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav have visited the Raj Bhavan to claim to stake their claim to the government.
Nitish Kumar and Tejaswi Yadav.
Credits:- The Indian Express
Reactions from various people on the political spectrum on this turmoil in Bihar.
The opposition commented on the situation saying JD(U) breaking ranks with the BJP is a “strong indictment” of the saffron party’s “politics of intimidation” and shows a change in Indian politics.
The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday welcomed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for quitting the BJP-led NDA and said no ally can safeguard its identity in the saffron camp as BJP with its “grab all politics” does not believe in the existence of regional parties.
CPIM(L) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said, “We will extend a helping hand if the JD(U) breaks up with BJP and a new government is set up.”
Dipankar Bhattacharya.
Credits:- News 18
He pointed out that the party at its Gaya conference had made it clear that to “save the state from the BJP, we will take whatever steps are needed”.
CPI(M) politburo member Nilotpal Basu said that if a new alignment were to take place, it would be a positive development and the party would welcome it if the “influence of the BJP can be negated”.
Nilotpal Basu
Credits:- ABP Live.
While Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said that allying with the JD(U) is a possibility the decision will be taken as per the direction of the Bihar people.
The implication of this JDU and BJP Split on Bihar Politics.
If we look at the immediate implications of this move on Bihar politics the BJP will mostly lose power as the Mahagathbandhan plans to grab power.
But the long-term implications are something all parties have to watch out for.
Nitish Kumar is not a very trustworthy politician he is an opportunist and might jump boats again during the time of re-elections.
The people of Bihar were not very fond of Nitish Kumar the BJP and Narendra Modi came in and gave the upper hand to JDU, we will have to wait and watch if Tejaswi Yadav can fill this gap in this coalition.
It is also difficult to judge how the people will react in the next elections it all depends on how well JDU and the mahagathbandhan can make a counter-narrative against BJP while in power.
The BJP has also to rework their state-level party coalitions, it has to move to its previous style where state-level local parties in the coalition get primacy, this will help a long-lasting and stable political term for BJP.
It will also be interesting to see a Hindutva Vs Caste Related identity politics that we might see in the next Bihar assembly elections.
Credits:- Hindustan Times, Business Standard, Live Mint and The Print.
Featured Image Credits:- The Indian Express.
