Why Nitish Kumar’s exit is a huge embarrassment for the INDIA bloc ahead of 2024 polls

It looks like déjà vu yet again. Nitish Kumar is again to the place he was in early 2022 — with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). On Sunday (28 January), the Janata Dal (United) {JD(U)} chief took the oath of workplace for the ninth time with the help of the BJP, after dumping his former allies — the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the INDIA bloc.

It’s no shock that the JD(U)’s flip — fifth time in over 10 years — has earned him the title of ‘Paltu Ram’ in Bihar politics.

Shortly after he took the oath of chief minister, he was congratulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and different BJP leaders. On the different hand, leaders from the INDIA alliance voiced their displeasure with the veteran politician, with some even describing him as a turncoat and ‘girgit’ (chameleon).

But Nitish Kumar stays unfazed. He asserted that there is now no query of leaving the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-fold. “I was with them (NDA) earlier, too. We went on different paths, but now we are together and will remain so… I came back to where I was (NDA), and now there is no question of going anywhere else,” the 72-year-old mentioned.

But as Nitish makes a ghar wapsi to the NDA, one can’t ignore that his exit will negatively influence the INDIA grouping. We take a look how.

Why Nitish Kumar left INDIA

After a lot hypothesis and conjecture, Nitish Kumar on Sunday tendered his resignation as chief minister on Sunday morning, ditching the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA. Shortly after, the 72-year-old was administered the oath of workplace by Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar at Raj Bhavan for the ninth time, in the presence of BJP leaders, together with occasion president JP Nadda.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Kumar advised reporters: “I have come back where I was earlier. Now there is no question of going back.”

He indicated that he wasn’t pleased with the approach issues had been getting into the alliance in the state in addition to the newly fashioned Opposition grouping, INDIA.

There have been rumblings of cracks between the JD(U) and the RJD for fairly a while, with many speculating that Nitish would flip sides. Upendra Kushwaha, who heads the Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, claimed that Kumar was making an attempt to give up the Mahagathbandhan as he was feeling “suffocated”.

“Nitish Kumar has built an image where everyone keeps guessing about his future political moves. It is true that he is not comfortable as RJD is part of the Mahagathbandhan. He is feeling suffocated,” he advised PTI on Friday.

JD(U) nationwide spokesperson KC Tyagi additionally supplied insights as to why Nitish Kumar give up the INDIA bloc and rejoined palms with the NDA. “The attitude of the Congress from day one had not been very positive… They wanted to finish all of us non-Congress parties as part of a conspiracy,” he alleged to Indian Express.

Also learn: How Lutyens’ Delhi derailed Nitish Kumar’s political profession — and with it the prospect of Bihar

He additional added, “They (Congress) also wanted to hijack the leadership of the INDIA bloc. It was decided in Mumbai that the alliance will not project a face. But through some intrigue and manipulation in the night… Jairam Ramesh and co ensured Mallikarjun Kharge’s name was proposed at the meeting. What was the need for such intrigue and manipulation? Although Kharge politely refused, it was the Congress’s conspiracy to hijack leadership (of the bloc).”

How INDIA reacted

Nitish’s flip, understandably, has shocked and irked the INDIA bloc. Tejashwi Yadav, the son of Lalu Yadav and former deputy chief minister of Bihar, mentioned, “The JD(U) will be destroyed in the upcoming Assembly polls”.

“The game is not over for us. The game has just begun,” mentioned the younger chief. His elder brother, Tej Pratap Yadav, and sister, Rohini Acharya, additionally ridiculed the Bihar chief minister, likening him to a “chameleon.”

Convenor of the INDIA grouping, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge additionally minced no phrases when requested about Nitish Kumar’s volte-face. He mentioned that he knew it might occur, including, “There are many individuals in the nation like ‘Aaya Ram-Gaya Ram’.

“Earlier he and us were fighting together. When I talked to Lalu ji and Tejashwi, they also said that Nitish is going. If he wanted to stay, he would have stayed but he wants to go. That’s why we already knew this, but to keep the India alliance intact, if we say something wrong, the wrong message will be sent. This information was already given to us by Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav. Today that came true. There are many people in the country like ‘Aaya Ram-Gaya Ram’,” Kharge mentioned.

Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress matriarch and West Bengal chief minister, additionally expressed her anger at Kumar’s actions. A supply near her advised The Telegraph, “Didi thinks that if Nitish Kumar leaves the INDIA bloc, it would be good riddance. “She thinks that the anti-incumbency facing the Nitish-led government would have cost the alliance.”

Another senior face of the Opposition alliance, Sharad Pawar, mentioned folks will give a befitting reply to the politics of “frequently shifting loyalties” being performed by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Congress’ Shashi Tharoor, maybe, had the finest tackle the occasions. Using his impeccable English expertise, he known as Kumar a snollygoster — which implies “a shrewd, unprincipled politician”. Incidentally, this was the identical phrase Tharoor had used for the veteran chief had parted methods with the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.

How Nitish’s exit hurts INDIA

While the leaders might venture Nitish’s exit as non-significant, it is exhausting to disregard him or his influence on the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

First and foremost, Nitish’s exit hurts the alliance, because it reinstates the narrative that the BJP has pushed on the grouping — of it being non-reliant and unstable. Kumar’s shift will now add to the NDA’s momentum and the INDIA bloc should provide you with some main gamechanger to tackle the NDA.

Secondly, his crossing over to the NDA, boosts the ruling alliance’s numbers for the upcoming polls. Analysts word that Nitish’s exit from the INDIA bloc additionally places the grouping in a conundrum over the matter of caste equations. After all, it was Nitish Kumar who was the architect of the Bihar caste survey — a template that the Opposition has used for a pitch in opposition to the BJP. As the Indian Express experiences, Nitish’s transfer to the NDA additionally reinforces the “Hindutva plus social justice” plank which the BJP has repeatedly underlined as the basis of its electoral attraction and success.

Nitish’s exit additionally hurts the INDIA bloc, as he was the one who initiated it. Critics will now query the viability and existence of the grouping now that the JD(U) chief has walked out.

Furthermore, his exit comes at the worst time for INDIA; the TMC and Aam Aadmi Party have introduced that they might be going solo in West Bengal and Punjab respectively, making voters query if the alliance is of any sense.

Poll pundits additionally word that with Nitish leaving the Grand Alliance in the state of Bihar, the RJD is left to rely upon the ‘MY’ mixture — Muslim, Yadav base. For occasion, an ABP-CVoter survey from a month in the past predicted 21-23 seats for the INDIA bloc and 16-18 for the NDA. But this appears very exhausting now with the JD(U) chief dumping the alliance.

Nitish dumping the INDIA bloc additionally reinforces the anti-Congress stance. JD(U) leaders have blamed the Grand Old Party for their chief’s transfer and it will harm their popularity and possibilities in the normal elections. It additionally places stress on the Congress in its negotiations with allies like Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party.

Clearly, the exit of Nitish Kumar and the JD(U) is a huge embarrassment for the INDIA bloc, whether or not it wish to acknowledge it or not.

With inputs from companies