His aides and colleagues might endorse what he said, but people who have been witness to his political intrigues emphasise that he was in fact preparing the ground for riding piggyback on BJP but before doing that he was also trying to test the perseverance of the opposition parties. Till a year ago some of them were ready to accept him as the prime ministerial candidate for 2019 Lok Sabha election. But in recent months the situation has undergone a major change. Most of them are now reluctant to accept him as their leader.

For the past three years Nitish has been promoting the idea of opposition unity to check Modi. But quite intriguingly, when the opportunity came to work out a joint strategy he backed out. For him Modi’s lunch was more important and delicious than the opposition menu.

The UP assembly elections proved to be the turning point for him as the post-election developments in the opposition camp sent a strong message that the opposition would not project him as its prime ministerial candidate. For him the issue of opposition unity had lost its relevance. Instead of acting like a senior opposition leader, he betrayed the feeling of a distraught politician.

Even during the elections there were allegations that he had withdrawn from the electoral arena to help the BJP. Most of the opposition leaders distanced themselves from him. Precisely this was the reason that he skipped the luncheon meeting called by Sonia Gandhi to showcase opposition unity. It was not that lunch with Modi left him with no time to be present at the opposition meet.

Sensing the mood of opposition leaders, Nitish strategically ruled himself out of the prime ministerial race. He had also said that Modi got the top post because he was “capable”. It made absolutely explicit that he had some longer-term strategic man oeuvre in mind. He did not have the slightest idea that his past actions would be linked to his move to push himself into national politics. He wanted to be the convener of opposition unity. But what really made opposition sceptical of his intentions was his advice to Rahul Gandhi. "Instead of reacting to Narendra Modi, we should be setting our own agenda".

Nitish's stand has come as a rude shock at a time when the Opposition is trying to cobble together a united front for the presidential election to wage an ideological war against the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

This move of Nitish is also viewed as an attempt to forge a new political realignment in the state. Nitish does not nurse soft feelings for Lalu. There is growing feeling that Lalu has lost his relevance for Nitish. At a time when Lalu Yadav is fighting for survival, Nitish preferred to play safe. It is no more a secret that the materials and documents about the financial deals of his children were supplied to the BJP leaders allegedly by some top JD(U) leader. Nitish never came out openly to deflect the media trial of Lalu and his sons Tejashawi, Tej Pratap (deputy chief minister and minister) and daughter Misa (Rajya Sabha MP).

Nevertheless, it is the timing of Nitish attending Modi's lunch that has raised eyebrows in political circles. Even bitter rivals Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati preferred to keep their animosity on the back burner and participated at the meet hosted by Sonia.

However, some senior JD(U) leaders say Lalu proclaiming himself as the leader of the Grand Alliance, charges of financial wrongdoing against his family members, and his nexus with don Mohammed Shahabuddin had already caused immense damage to Nitish. “He had to distance himself from Lalu. Nitish skipped the lunch not to avoid Sonia but Lalu Prasad," they suggested.

Lalu, who jokingly says that Nitish has teeth in his intestine, is cut up with this stance of Nitish. His supporters openly accuse him of trying to marginalise Lalu. But the parting of ways would mean Nitish needs a strong support from other parties especially BJP. Unfortunately for Nitish, the BJP response has been quite mute. Except some upper caste Rajput and Bhumihar leaders, no backward caste BJP leader is keen to support Nitish. They would rather have their own backward caste leader Sushil Mody as the chief minister. They feel that Nitish has been using them for his own political gains.

In the wake of the scam surrounding Lalu's family, the BJP has even sharpened its attack on Nitish and ask how come a person known to be harsh on corruption has preferred to compromise on his beliefs because of political compulsion. This simply worsened the relation between the two leaders.

Nitish has also been keeping off Lalu's efforts to hold an anti-BJP rally in Patna on August 27.He was unhappy with the way Lalu was unilaterally taking the lead without holding any consultation with the JDU and the Congress. He decided not to attend the rally.

Summing up Nitish’s action, RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said: "I am not surprised by Nitish's decision because his track record proves that he goes against what we stand for. Be it demonetisation or the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, he was against the RJD's stand. When top leaders are going on the call of Soniaji he should also go. It will send a wrong message and NDA will get the benefit". (IPA Service)