Both parties denied the possibility of terminating the alliance after chief minister Nitish Kumar decided to return flood relief received from Gujarat.
The BJP-JD(U) spat appears to be getting uglier by the day, but the alliance partners have few options but to travel together in the run-up to the Bihar assembly elections.
Both parties denied the possibility of terminating the alliance after chief minister Nitish Kumar decided to return flood relief received from Gujarat, but there are sure signs the chasm between the two is growing. It’s now a question of who blinks first.
However, knowing fully well that they have to stick together to keep political rivals Lalu Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan and a resurgent Congress at bay, BJP and JD(U) may arrive at a settlement. BJP is holding a crucial meeting on Monday to take a decision on the alliance’s future.
Taking umbrage to Nitish returning the Gujarat government’s Rs5-crore flood relief cheque, BJP struck back on Sunday, with senior leader and Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi cancelling a planned tour with the chief minister. “I don’t want to accompany Kumar to a meeting following his arbitrary attitude in returning flood relief money offered by the government of Gujarat,” Modi said.
However, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said his party would remain in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“Our alliance with NDA is old and our intention is it should
continue. The incidents of June 12 were unfortunate, but they are now behind us. What has passed has passed. After June 12 we fought Rajya Sabha polls together,” he said.
But BJP leaders continued to take potshots at Nitish. Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha described his move to return money to Gujarat as “childish”. He even went to the extent of saying Nitish seemed to have made up his mind to snap ties with BJP.
Going a step further, Bihar BJP chief CP Thakur said his party was not prepared to tolerate pressure politics. “If need be we can go alone,” he said.
Shahnawaz Hussain met Yadav and conveyed BJP’s anger at Nitish’s attitude.
With elections in Bihar just a few months, the situation remains critical for BJP and JD(U), which doesn’t want to be seen to be too close to a party with “doubtful” secular credentials.
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