Bihar’s political scene takes a dramatic turn just months before the Lok Sabha 2024 as Nitish Kumar, famously dubbed ‘Paltu Kumar,’ assumes the Chief Minister’s role for the 9th time, this time in collaboration with the BJP. In a surprising twist, Kumar, who once declared he’d “rather die than go to NDA,” strategically aligns with the BJP just months before the crucial Lok Sabha 2024 elections.
Last year, Kumar vehemently opposed joining the NDA, but today, he leaves behind the Mahagathbandhan alliance with RJD, Congress, and the Left to join forces with the BJP-led NDA. The sudden shift leaves the RJD ministers ousted overnight, dealing a significant blow to the INDIA alliance that Kumar was previously uniting against the BJP for the upcoming elections.
Reacting to this, reportedly, PM Modi dialed and congratulated Kumar on Sunday. He later took to X and congratulated Kumar and the two new deputy CMs stating, “The team will serve my family members of the state with full dedication”. Along with Kumar, two deputy CMs – Samart Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha were also sworn in.
‘Snollygoster’, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor remarked which meant, a shrewd, unprincipled politician, although he never mentioned Kumar’s name. “Garbage goes back in dustbin”, Rohini Aacharya, daughter of Lalu Prasad tweeted without mentioning Nitish Kumar or NDA directlydirectly in a series of tweets. Sharad Pawar’s NCP said Kumar will be remembered as the “Great Paltu Ram” who loves jumping on command of BJP.
As Bihar plunges into political turmoil, Tejashwi Yadav, the outgoing Deputy CM, dismissed Kumar as a “tired CM” and asserts that the game has just begun. He also said that everything happened for a better reason adding, INDIA alliance is strong and that the JD(U) will be ‘finished in 2024’.
With Bihar holding 40 Lok Sabha seats, Kumar’s flip-flop is viewed as a strategic advantage for the BJP in the upcoming elections. According to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, Kumar has been the one who convened INDIA meetings and that the opposition bloc was expecting him to fight the BJP till the end. Moreover, Kumar’s inconsistency reinforces the BJP’s claim of the opposition bloc being an unstable alliance.
The INDIA bloc has also been experiencing strained relationship between Congress and AAP in Punjab; and between Congress and TMC in West Bengal with Mamata Banerjee recently declaring that TMC will fight alone in Bengal.
Also Read: JDU Nagaland lauds BJP’s choice of Nitish Kumar as Bihar Chief Minister, pledges unwavering support
Considering that Home Minister Amit Shah on 2023 said that the doors of BJP have been closed for Kumar, the Central BJP leaders may have greenlighted the move looking at the larger picture.
Kumar after being sworn in as the chief minister by Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar in the Raj Bhavan, Patna, took to X to thank prime minister Modi for his “cooperation” and said that a new government has been formed in Bihar with the NDA alliance. “The public is the master and serving them is our basic objective. With the NDA coalition government at the Center and the state, development work will gain momentum and the people of the state will improve,” he added.
Meanwhile, the JD(U) Nagaland has congratulated Kumar stating that JD(U) has been a key ally in NDA and that the JD(U) appreciate the “wisdom” of the High Command of BJP.
“The JDU Nagaland shall stand firmly with Shri Nitish Ji and shall not waver in whatsoever circumstances it may take to,” the Nagaland state unit of the JD(U) said in a statement.