Nitish Kumar is again afraid of betrayal. Therefore, Nitish is insisting on working unitedly with the NDA constituents. Nitish stressed in the meeting that NDA meetings should be held from booth level to state level so that a clear message is sent to the public in the assembly elections that the alliance is united and there is no difference in it. JDU, which is stuck on 43 seats in the year 2020, is trying to take lessons from the old history and keep moving forward. Therefore, no issue was discussed in the NDA meeting which has remained a sore spot for the NDA constituents.
After the election results of 2020, JDU started doubting BJP. Chirag Paswan was busy in ruining JDU by not fielding a candidate against BJP in the last assembly elections. Chirag was also successful. NDA government was formed but Nitish’s party JDU was reduced to just 43 seats. Nitish became CM, but he felt that this game was played by BJP. Because BJP now wants to sit on the driving seat in Bihar also.
Which constituent party in NDA is JDU afraid of?
For this reason, in the year 2022, JDU left NDA and joined RJD. But relations with RJD also lasted only for one and a half years and Nitish came back to NDA. Nitish’s image got a big blow due to such a reversal, but this time he wants to set a record in Bihar by convincing all the constituents of NDA. Nitish’s strike rate in the Lok Sabha elections has been good and the central government is running with the support of Nitish’s party.
BJP is now on defensive. Therefore, due to BJP not getting majority in the Lok Sabha elections, it had announced at the same time that NDA will contest in the 2025 assembly elections under the leadership of Nitish. This time BJP is not in a position to play much in the state. At the same time, Chirag Paswan’s party LJP (R) also seems to be trying to establish better relations with Nitish, but there are questions about whether BJP workers will be able to connect wholeheartedly with Nitish Kumar, who broke ties with BJP twice and joined RJD. Getting up.
This is the reason why Nitish and his commander called a meeting today in view of these possibilities. In this meeting special emphasis was laid on the unity of NDA. Obviously, this time the NDA includes BJP, JDU, LJP (R), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
Why is Nitish Kumar cautious about 2025?
Nitish Kumar was in NDA in the year 2019 and in the Lok Sabha elections, NDA was successful in winning 39 seats in Bihar. But the condition of NDA was bad in the 2020 assembly elections. Due to Chirag’s opposition, Nitish was reduced to 43 seats and along with BJP, Nitish was successful in forming the government with a lead of just 12 thousand votes over the opponents. This time in the Lok Sabha elections, the Grand Alliance has managed to win 10 seats compared to one.
At the same time, Congress and Left are in a strong alliance with RJD and Mukesh Sahni’s party VIP is also planning to contest the assembly elections along with Tejashwi Yadav. Obviously, the number of constituent parties of NDA has increased and the number of constituent parties in the Grand Alliance has also increased as compared to the last elections. Therefore, it is clearly visible that the contest will be interesting. Whatever jobs Nitish Kumar has given during the 17 months of government, RJD has started wooing the youth by terming them as the work of Tejashwi Yadav.
Anti-incumbency against Nitish is also at its peak in Bihar
Nitish has been on the CM’s chair for the last 19 years. Therefore anti-incumbency is also at its peak. In such a situation, RJD getting strong support from Mukesh Sahni and the Left can change the story of the last 19 years. Its trailer was seen in the last assembly elections. Therefore, it is being said that if RJD’s youth leader Tejashwi Yadav is successful in attracting the youth with him, the situation may change. Obviously Nitish and his team are trying to stop this. Therefore, efforts have been made to maintain a strong alliance at the district level by holding large-scale meetings with the constituent parties.
It is noteworthy that by calling the MP, MLA, MLC and District President of the NDA constituents in the meeting, Nitish Kumar has given a mantra for the next elections, which clearly indicates the doubt going on in the minds of the JDU leaders. Nitish and his commander feel that despite winning 39 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, RJD had missed out on coming to power in the 2020 assembly elections due to less number of MLAs. But this time the Grand Alliance has won 10 Lok Sabha seats. Therefore, it is very important for NDA to remain truly united so that RJD cannot play too much in the assembly elections this time.
JDU’s graph is continuously falling
JDU has been successful in forming the government by winning 125 seats in the year 2010, 71 seats in the year 2015 and 43 seats in the year 2020. But all the figures are analyzing how much JDU’s graph has fallen. But in the year 2020, Upendra Kushwaha and Chirag Paswan were not in NDA, whereas Mukesh Sahni had joined NDA just before the elections. Apparently this time Chirag, Upendra Kushwaha are together and Mukesh Sahni is apart. Amidst all this, RCP Singh, who is said to be Nitish’s right hand man, is also going to form a party and contest the elections.
At the same time, Prashant Kishor’s party Jan Suraj Party is trying to remove Nitish by calling him weak. In such a situation, this time Prashant Kishore can play the role of Chirag. This is also being discussed in full swing. In Bihar, there is confusion regarding whether Prashant Kishor will cause more harm to the NDA or the India alliance. It is being said that BJP voters can vote for Prashant Kishore at the same place where JDU candidates will stand. Therefore, this time Prashant Kishore will be playing the role of Chirag Paswan. This fear is in the hearts and minds of JDU leaders. Therefore, Nitish Kumar has been heard giving maximum emphasis on unity in the meeting.
How will the NDA constituents resolve the contradiction?
There is contradiction in NDA. Sending the Waqf Amendment Bill to JPC is a big proof of this. Lalan Singh’s strong support for BJP in Parliament faded when voices of protest started being raised from within JDU. JDU and BJP are face to face on various issues ranging from UCC to other issues. Obviously, BJP is saying yes to JDU because of its support at the Centre. But the opposition between BJP and JDU on many issues is clearly visible. Same is the situation with prohibition of liquor. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s stance on this issue has been different from that of JDU.
Contradictions may prove costly in elections
On the issue of reservation for SC-ST, Chirag Paswan’s party has been seen openly opposing the quota. Whereas Jitan Ram Manjhi came forward in demanding this. These contradictions may prove costly in elections. But keeping all this aside, Nitish Kumar seems determined to keep all the constituents united. For this reason, JDU seems to be removing the contradiction by not discussing Giriraj Singh’s Hindu Jagran Yatra in the meeting. Obviously, it seems to be a big challenge for JDU to transfer the votes of the constituent parties while keeping the base vote bank united. That’s why Nitish Kumar is insisting on propagating the NDA government instead of calling it the Nitish government.
In fact, NDA’s defeat in Karakat, Arrah and Jehanabad in the Lok Sabha elections is a cause for concern. In this, many NDA voters were seen voting on different patterns. Therefore, Nitish Kumar wants to remove all the problems before the assembly elections.
