Bihar: Cracks appear in JD(U) as Nitish Kumar joins hands with BJP; trust vote today

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may succeed in securing a confidence vote in the state assembly on Friday, but after he switched alliance partner signs of cracks are appearing both in his JDU as well as his rival RJD. The JD(U) chiefs in other states like West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra have come out openly against Nitish aligning with the BJP. Former president Sharad Yadav has expressed apprehensions of the party breaking apart in a conversation he had with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday evening.

Speaking to media, JD(U) MP Ali Anwar said, "We never expected this from Nitish Kumar... Even Sharad Yadav was not consulted." Anwar was the first JD(U) MP to openly take a stand against Nitish Kumar for allying with the BJP.

The party's Kerala unit also distanced itself from Nitish Kumar's decision, saying, "Our stand is clear. We will not support Nitish Kumar if he's part of NDA."

Things are moving fast in Bihar. Together BJP and its allies with JD(U) have 129 MLAs in a 243 member assembly. A simple majority requires support of 122 MLAs. Given that there are 17 Muslims and Yadavs in JD(U), Nitish Kumar may have to walk on a string. But he may feel assurance that there is rebellion in the RJD as well. RJD MLA Maheshwar Prasad has already broken away from Lalu Prasad Yadav and pledged support to JD(U)-BJP alliance.

The rebel group is counting on Sharad Yadav's influence over five Muslim MLAs and 11 Yadav MLAs. If they come out of the party and disqualified, the strength of the Assembly will be reduced from 243 to 227, requiring 114 votes and Nitish Kumar may fall short of one vote to keep his government going. The rebel group got busy contacting the 16 MLAs over phone to see if they can turn tables on Nitish in the confidence vote on Friday itself, but the party leaders said it may take a few days, maybe a week, to bring them around.

Kerala JD(U) president M P Veerendra Kumar on Thursday expressed shock over party chief Nitish Kumar's decision to align with the BJP and said the state unit would not follow the chief minister into the NDA fold. He appealed to all JD(U) MPs to denounce the decision and quit the party. West Bengal state president of JDU also described Nitish's move as betrayal . "What Kumar did was his personal decision. There is no ratification of the party regarding that. Most of the MLAs in Bihar are disgruntled."said Amitava Dutta, state president of JDU, while talking to DNA.

"Nitish Kumar heard the voice of his conscience before taking the decision. However, my conscience does not allow me to support it... JD(U) had parted ways with BJP in the last state Assembly elections due to the difference in ideologies which continue to exist. In fact, things we did not agree with have become even more prominent recently," he told reporters outside Parliament House.