Little doubt that it is a herculean task to clear the stable. Nitish may sack Tejashvi from his cabinet. But it is certainly not a panacea. It would simply create problems more for him. Just as some JD(U) leaders are furnishing documents and materials to BJP leader Sushil Modi to tarnish the image of Lalu Yadav and his family members, some leaders are believed to be waiting in the wings with information to malign Nitish Kumar.

Nitish has, in fact, placed himself in a tangy situation. His choice between power and principle is fraught with many imponderables. He is seriously contemplating to use the allegation against Tejashvi to boost his public image as a man of principles. But the challenges are more acute. His wavering to take action against Tejashvi and throw him out of his ministry primarily owes to the absence of comprehensive assurance from the BJP leadership, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi about his status and relation with the saffron outfit.

Nitish is in a tight spot. In the backdrop of the ambivalent BJP; he cannot muster courage to throw an open challenge to Lalu Yadav. He is aware that in the existing scenario no political leader, except Lalu Yadav, can claim a strong support base. Even his conviction in the fodder scam has failed to eclipse his support base. The mahagathbandhan, in fact, could win the 2015 assembly elections only due to his support base.

Nitish is desperate to disentangle himself from the embrace of the mahagathbandhan only for the dictates of Lalu, who is sure that the longevity of the alliance is suspect and it can collapse any day under its own contradictions. While this sense has made Lalu to garner as much benefit as he can, Nitish on his side has been finding it difficult to abide by his dictates.

His recent meetings with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were aimed at making them use their moral authority and influence to tame Lalu. But no breakthrough could be achieved as Lalu is not willing to oblige. Succumbing to the pressure of Nitish would mean end of the road for the Lalu dynasty, especially for Tejashvi. No politician nursing the hope to emerge as the king would ever agree to the suggestion to yield to the CBI allegation and resign. It is significant that none of the Congress leaders has made any statement after the Nitish-Rahul meetingt. The Congress leadership is not too willing to accommodate the wishes of Nitish.

Nitish likes to keep his government going with the help of the RJD, and, at the same time, protect his own image as a clean politician, who will not compromise on the issue of corruption. This is utopian. Nevertheless, political circles are agog with the speculation that on Wednesday, Nitish would in all probability, sack Tejashvi. This is based on the conjecture that Nitish during his stay in Delhi on Tuesday, on the occasion of swearing of Ramnath Kovind as the President, would have some sort of honourable settlement with Modi. Once he reaches an understanding, he could perhaps sack Tejashvi.

But this does not appear to be feasible. The supporters of Lalu Yadav, especially the Yadavs and Muslims, have been contemplating a mass protest against this move of Nitish. The state government is also apprehensive of such a situation. Nitish has already met his senior officials and a meeting has been convened to assess the law and order situation.

Media close to BJP has been trying to put psychological pressure on Nitish to act against Lalu. For them it is not the pragmatism or real politick that matters. Instead, they are playing the issue of principles to force Nitish to dismiss the Lalu sons. One thing is absolutely explicit that there are limits to the room for political manoeuvre avilable for Nitish. A tough stand against the Lalu clan may enhance his popularity, but at the same time there is no certainty that he will survive as chief minister. Lalu toughening his stand primarily owes to the fact that the RJD leadership is aware that he has more to lose than gain by standing on principle.

Meanwhile, the stand of the veteran JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav has simply complicated the situation. He does not endorse the stand of Nitish and feels that he was on the verge of committing hara-kiri. Apprehensions are being expressed that some JD(U) legislators, who owe their personal loyalty to Sharad, may defect.

One development is of quite consequence; there are at least seven hard core RJD leaders, followers of Lalu Yadav, in the JD(U). They were allotted JD(U) tickets. These legislators would never like to betray their mentor. Between 2005 and 2014, Nitish sacked at least four ministers over charges of corruption. They included protégé turned critic Jitan Ram Manjhi, who was made to resign due to a pending vigilance case against him. But people have refused to take these seriously. On the contrary, they are more concerned about corrupt people denigrating the educational institutions right under the nose of the government and the chief minister.

Nitish must realise the alliance’s fundamental flaw: that it is a marriage of unequal partners, with the only uniting factor being the desire to contain the BJP. In fact, Nitish has also erred in telling Tejashvi to explain the reasons for the CBI filing case against him in the railway land scam to the people of Bihar, who have given the mandate to the Grand Alliance. On his part, Tejashwi has already told him that he would explain his position to the people on August 27 at the RJD rally organized to launch a war against the BJP. (IPA Service)