In Fourth Term As Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar Will Have To Keep Looking Over His Shoulder

As Nitish Kumar begins his fourth term as Bihar chief minister, he is not only dealing with the loss of his own political stature in the state but also that of his party’s within the NDA: with 43 seats to BJP ’s 74, the JD(U) has been reduced to a junior partner from Big Brother.

To add to his troubles, Nitish will have to run the government without his confidante, BJP’s Sushil Kumar Modi, who held the post of deputy chief minister for much of the 15 years that Nitish has been CM.

Instead, on Monday, two BJP legislators , Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, were sworn in as deputy chief ministers, on the lines of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh . Both are four-time MLAs, from Katihar and Betia, respectively, and Devi is from the Extremely Backward Class (EBC). HuffPost India learnt from top political sources that Nitish attempted to get Sushil Modi back as deputy CM, but was spurned by the leadership.

As Nitish’s tug-of-war with the BJP continues, people familiar with the matter also told HuffPost India that RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav also called smaller NDA allies such as Jitan Ram Manjhi and Mukesh Sahani to try and get them to support the Mahagathbandhan. Both have turned down the offer for now, and both Sahani and Santosh Kumar Suman from Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) have also taken oath.

The NDA, which includes BJP, JD(U), HAM and Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) have won 125 seats, three more than what is required for a simple majority. Even one ally backing out could cause the government to collapse. The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, which also includes Congress and the Left parties, won 110 seats. The RJD is the single-largest party with 75 seats.

Exit Sushil Kumar Modi

Until Monday, it was still not clear whether Sushil Kumar Modi would get another chance as deputy CM or not. But Sushil Modi himself gave a big hint on Sunday evening when he removed ‘deputy chief minister’ from his Twitter bio. He also tweeted that in the 40 years of his political career, the BJP and the RSS gave him more than anyone ever got. He added that nobody can snatch the position of a party worker from him and that he would continue to discharge whatever responsibility is given to him.

“The BJP has placed faith in Nitish but the central leadership seems to be reluctant about Sushil Modi. He may be picked for some other role,” a senior BJP leader from Bihar told HuffPost India.

Right after the Bihar assembly election results became clear, the BJP had informed Nitish that he should prepare for his fourth term as CM. Well-informed sources told HuffPost India that Nitish sent a message to the central BJP leadership, recommending the continuation of Sushil Modi as deputy chief minister in his government.

However, he was left disappointed as top BJP leaders said that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi could take a decision on the future role of Sushil Modi. The BJP had virtually signaled to Nitish that his dictating terms to the BJP was no history and his choice in the BJP may not necessarily be the high command’s choice as well.

This doesn’t come as a surprise—Sushil Modi is known to be very close to Nitish Kumar, right from the days of the JP movement, and is often referred to as Nitish’s man in the BJP.

While he is articulate and one of the tallest BJP leaders in Bihar, he is also resented within the party for letting Nitish run the show in Bihar. 

“Sushil Modi may be good for Nitishji but he may be good for the BJP. The BJP too has an expansion plan in Bihar and Sushil Modi was apparently proving as hindrance to this expansion plan. Politically speaking, this changed template has a lot of meaning for Nitishji also,” said the BJP leader quoted above.

The BJP doesn’t hold all the cards though. Nitish is deeply annoyed that the BJP damaged his party by propping up the Chirag Paswan-led LJP. Paswan’s party won only one seat but it damaged the electoral prospects of the JD (U) in as many as 41 assembly seats. Well-placed sources told HuffPost India that Nitish made his displeasure known to Bihar BJP in-charge Bhupendra Yadav and Minister of state for Home Nityanand Rai, when they visited him after the results.

While the BJP holds the upper hand, it has no chance of forming a government in the absence of Nitish, at least as of now.

RJD’s feelers

Amidst this political drama, the RJD has also been sending out feelers to Manjhi’s HAM, Sahani’s VIP and Asaduddin Owaisi ’s party All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (which won 5 seats and is not part of any alliance).
RJD president and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is learnt to have called the party leaders, asking them to support the Mahagathbandhan. Lalu, who is currently lodged at Kelly’s Bungalow in Ranchi, also called the independent MLA from Chakai, Sumit Singh, to support the Mahagathbandhan.
However, all four have turned down the proposal despite Sahani and Manjhi being offered plum posts. After this, Nitish personally spoke to both Sahani and Manjhi, who assured him of their support, and the government formation exercise was sped through.