By Manoj Kumar
Patna: It was not long ago when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would dictate terms to the BJP, and the latter would grin and bear, in the true tradition of an obedient coalition partner.
Not anymore.
Now, the BJP is on the offensive and it’s the JD(U) – Nitish’s party – which is maintaining restraint.
The party’s leadership has dropped enough hints that it would bend no further to his whims and give it back fair and square if the point of contention is Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
After the chief minister’s unrelenting attack on Modi, the BJP is ready to break free of the 17-year-old alliance and go it alone in the 2014 parliamentary polls.
The BJP has started boycotting the official programmes of the chief minister held outside the state capital. To rub it in, it is putting up big posters of Narendra Modi beside the posters of Nitish Kumar.
The new-found aggression was visible in Gopalganj town where Nitish had gone on Thursday in course of his fresh round of ‘Seva Yatra’.
Showing no respect to the sentiment of the chief minister – he hates to be seen anywhere close to Modi, even in posters – local BJP leaders put up scores of posters of the Gujarat chief minister on every route of Nitish’s cavalcade. Significantly, Modi was also defiantly feted as ‘Bhavi Pradhan Mantri-2014’ (Future prime minister-2014) in the BJP’s posters. All these were cheekily placed right next to the posters of Nitish.
The JD(U) was quick to describe the BJP’s move as “instigating act” and sought stern action against leaders who were involved in it but the BJP dismissed it as nothing objectionable. “Some over-enthusiastic party workers may have put up the posters of their leader but what’s objectionable in it? They have every right to put up posters of their leaders,” Bihar’s Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh told Firstpost.
That is not all. Even Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who would blindly support every action of the chief minister earlier, has gone quite harsh on Nitish these days. “No one can veto who should be the BJP’s prime minister candidate,” Modi told a meeting of party workers on Wednesday, in an apparent rebuff to Nitish, and added, “Only and only the BJP Parliamentary Board had the prerogative to decide on who should be the BJP’s PM although we will consult our allies before deciding his name.”
The BJP leadership has apparently gone on the offensive after getting feedback that Modi has now become a household name, thanks to the “sinister campaign” by its partner. Party insiders say the JD(U) launched a sustained campaign against Modi which has, in fact, gone in favour of the BJP. Now, the latter is ready to put all its bets on Modi hoping to reap a rich electoral dividend, rather than riding piggy back on Nitish who is making its life difficult.
“If Narendra Modi is projected as the PM and we go to polls under his leadership, then the BJP will indeed reap a rich harvest… he is the demand of the time given the weak Centre, a helpless-looking prime minister, rising corruption in the country and UPA government’s failures to handle Chinese incursions,” Giriraj Singh said, adding, “His (Modi’s) image of being a dashing leader suits the country.”
Against what was seen earlier, the BJP does not look in a state of panic but rather confident of pulling it off. Wary of Nitish’s game-plan to contest all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar on its own, the BJP think tank has already gone hyperactive and is seriously working on a strategy to limit the damage.
As part of its strategy, the state BJP unit is now trying to create booth committees in all 56,000 polling stations in the state. “Our sole strategy is that our party workers will be there at all the 56,000 booths in the state to ensure that the NDA comes out victorious in all 40 seats…we are already preparing for that,” state BJP president Mangal Pandey said. He added that the atmosphere was looking quite “favourable” for the BJP.
Another senior party leader confided that the preparation of the booth committee had begun on war footing given the JD(U)’s already “hidden election campaign” in the form of ‘Seva Yatra’ and his stay in villages to review development work. During his three-day trip to West Champaran Nitish Kumar stayed back in villages. The BJP was kept out of it.
“But, there is nothing to worry now. We too have begun our preparartions and 90 percent of the total 56,000 booths will be covered by the beginning of 2014,” said a top BJP leader.
The BJP has also begun strengthening its party base at the village level and is also trying to encroach into the vote bank of the JD(U) by frequently holding meetings with backward and extremely backward caste people. Significantly, the former claims extremely backward castes as its “own” vote bank and had reacted bitterly to the BJP’s efforts to make inroads into it. The BJP has further declared there is no question of quitting the alliance from its side saying the mandate has been by the voters in favour of the NDA, and not any party.
“If the JD(U) is so smart and confident of its support, it should recommend dissolution of the state assembly and seek a fresh mandate,” is the common refrain in the BJP camp.
The JD(U), on the other hand, has simply refused to get involved in any verbal duel with the BJP and is very calmly working on its “mission 2014”. In the past fortnight, the chief minister had addressed several meetings of the party’s backward cell, extremely backward cell as well minority cell in his home district of Nalanda, exhorting party workers to be prepared for the big fight. “You must know the importance of every vote and be prepared for the 2014 polls,” the CM told the party workers asking them to exhibit “rock-like unity”.
The CM has also launched the fresh round of the Seva Yatra from 1 May. Although the official explanation offered by the chief minister is that the purpose is to review the development works and interact with the masses, the way he is hopping from one place to another, meeting party leaders and district officials, speaks volumes about his plan.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/bjp-gives-it-back-to-jdu-how-tables-have-turned-in-bihar-752125.html
Patna: It was not long ago when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would dictate terms to the BJP, and the latter would grin and bear, in the true tradition of an obedient coalition partner.
Not anymore.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. PTI
The party’s leadership has dropped enough hints that it would bend no further to his whims and give it back fair and square if the point of contention is Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
After the chief minister’s unrelenting attack on Modi, the BJP is ready to break free of the 17-year-old alliance and go it alone in the 2014 parliamentary polls.
The BJP has started boycotting the official programmes of the chief minister held outside the state capital. To rub it in, it is putting up big posters of Narendra Modi beside the posters of Nitish Kumar.
The new-found aggression was visible in Gopalganj town where Nitish had gone on Thursday in course of his fresh round of ‘Seva Yatra’.
Showing no respect to the sentiment of the chief minister – he hates to be seen anywhere close to Modi, even in posters – local BJP leaders put up scores of posters of the Gujarat chief minister on every route of Nitish’s cavalcade. Significantly, Modi was also defiantly feted as ‘Bhavi Pradhan Mantri-2014’ (Future prime minister-2014) in the BJP’s posters. All these were cheekily placed right next to the posters of Nitish.
The JD(U) was quick to describe the BJP’s move as “instigating act” and sought stern action against leaders who were involved in it but the BJP dismissed it as nothing objectionable. “Some over-enthusiastic party workers may have put up the posters of their leader but what’s objectionable in it? They have every right to put up posters of their leaders,” Bihar’s Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh told Firstpost.
That is not all. Even Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who would blindly support every action of the chief minister earlier, has gone quite harsh on Nitish these days. “No one can veto who should be the BJP’s prime minister candidate,” Modi told a meeting of party workers on Wednesday, in an apparent rebuff to Nitish, and added, “Only and only the BJP Parliamentary Board had the prerogative to decide on who should be the BJP’s PM although we will consult our allies before deciding his name.”
The BJP leadership has apparently gone on the offensive after getting feedback that Modi has now become a household name, thanks to the “sinister campaign” by its partner. Party insiders say the JD(U) launched a sustained campaign against Modi which has, in fact, gone in favour of the BJP. Now, the latter is ready to put all its bets on Modi hoping to reap a rich electoral dividend, rather than riding piggy back on Nitish who is making its life difficult.
“If Narendra Modi is projected as the PM and we go to polls under his leadership, then the BJP will indeed reap a rich harvest… he is the demand of the time given the weak Centre, a helpless-looking prime minister, rising corruption in the country and UPA government’s failures to handle Chinese incursions,” Giriraj Singh said, adding, “His (Modi’s) image of being a dashing leader suits the country.”
Against what was seen earlier, the BJP does not look in a state of panic but rather confident of pulling it off. Wary of Nitish’s game-plan to contest all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar on its own, the BJP think tank has already gone hyperactive and is seriously working on a strategy to limit the damage.
As part of its strategy, the state BJP unit is now trying to create booth committees in all 56,000 polling stations in the state. “Our sole strategy is that our party workers will be there at all the 56,000 booths in the state to ensure that the NDA comes out victorious in all 40 seats…we are already preparing for that,” state BJP president Mangal Pandey said. He added that the atmosphere was looking quite “favourable” for the BJP.
Another senior party leader confided that the preparation of the booth committee had begun on war footing given the JD(U)’s already “hidden election campaign” in the form of ‘Seva Yatra’ and his stay in villages to review development work. During his three-day trip to West Champaran Nitish Kumar stayed back in villages. The BJP was kept out of it.
“But, there is nothing to worry now. We too have begun our preparartions and 90 percent of the total 56,000 booths will be covered by the beginning of 2014,” said a top BJP leader.
The BJP has also begun strengthening its party base at the village level and is also trying to encroach into the vote bank of the JD(U) by frequently holding meetings with backward and extremely backward caste people. Significantly, the former claims extremely backward castes as its “own” vote bank and had reacted bitterly to the BJP’s efforts to make inroads into it. The BJP has further declared there is no question of quitting the alliance from its side saying the mandate has been by the voters in favour of the NDA, and not any party.
“If the JD(U) is so smart and confident of its support, it should recommend dissolution of the state assembly and seek a fresh mandate,” is the common refrain in the BJP camp.
The JD(U), on the other hand, has simply refused to get involved in any verbal duel with the BJP and is very calmly working on its “mission 2014”. In the past fortnight, the chief minister had addressed several meetings of the party’s backward cell, extremely backward cell as well minority cell in his home district of Nalanda, exhorting party workers to be prepared for the big fight. “You must know the importance of every vote and be prepared for the 2014 polls,” the CM told the party workers asking them to exhibit “rock-like unity”.
The CM has also launched the fresh round of the Seva Yatra from 1 May. Although the official explanation offered by the chief minister is that the purpose is to review the development works and interact with the masses, the way he is hopping from one place to another, meeting party leaders and district officials, speaks volumes about his plan.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/politics/bjp-gives-it-back-to-jdu-how-tables-have-turned-in-bihar-752125.html
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