NDA opens door, JD(U) to walk out soon

The JD-U’s relationship with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance appeared to be on its last legs on Friday even as senior leaders in both the parties hoped for a continued relationship. Insiders say the split could come as early as on June 17.

The JD-U was quick to shake the alliance days after the BJP elevated Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its election campaign manager last weekend. Even though the two parties form the alliance government in Bihar, chief minister Nitish Kumar minced no words on Friday when he said that his party had a troubled relationship with the BJP.
“The situation is such that there are problems (in continuing the alliance),” Kumar told reporters in Patna. “Dua dete hain jeene ki, dawa karte hain marne ki. Dushwari ka sabab yeh hain (The give blessings for life, but medicine for death). That is the crux of the problem.”

Kirti Azad, an outspoken BJP member of Lok Sabha from Darbhanga in Bihar was equally vocal about the untenable alliance. “Enough is enough. Senior leaders of my party talk to them (JD-U), and they are acting childish,” Azad said. “Let them leave. When the alliance came into existence, it was then called Samata Party. The BJP had 45 MLAs in 1995 and they had three. If there is a break, then there will be a direct fight between the BJP and RJD.”

While JD-U chief Sharad Yadav appeared hopeful of a rapprochement, a senior JD-U member of the Lok Sabha, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the split would take place and that the situation would be clear by June 17.