Ever since the BJP entered into an alliance with JD(U) of Nitish, it never questioned his authority. This is for the first time that it had dropped wider indication of its independent thinking and also of pursuing a separate political line.

The emphasis on contesting more seats makes it explicit that the BJP would be under no obligation to accept Nitish Kumar as the leader of the NDA. It may opt for its own leader as the next chief minister though the BJP chief J P Nadda while coming out with this information, did not mention any thing about the probable chief minister.

It was on Saturday at a meeting of senior Bihar leaders Nadda dropped the indication of the party driving a hard bargain with Nitish Kumar for a larger share of seats in the upcoming polls and also get ready for some significant changes.

This announcement from Nadda has indeed shaken the trust level of JD(U) leaders. After a month old announcement by Amit Shah that the NDA will face the assembly election under the leadership of Nitish, every odd thing appeared to be settled in his favour. The JD(U) leaders have come into the election mood and already started campaigning. But this statement has come as a big shock for them.

After an open challenge from the NDA partner LJP to the leadership of Nitish, this is the major incident of expression of “virtual no trust” in his leadership. Only a week back Chirag Paswan, son of Ram Vilas Paswan and the chairman of the parliamentary party had publically criticised Nitish for his leadership failures and demanded a change in the leadership. In a way, though i the BJP’s latest stand is a sort of endorsement of the LJP stand.

During last year’s Lok Sabha polls, JDU boss and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had driven a hard bargain with then BJP chief Amit Shah and the two parties contested 17 seats each, leaving the remaining 6 for the LJP. The BJP, riding Modi’s popularity, wanted to be the big brother in Bihar but Nitish managed to restrict it and strike an equal seat-sharing arrangement.

At that point odds were against the BJP, which wanted to have its base in the state. Now the situation is not akin to 2019. In recent times the upper caste leaders of the party have started exerting their existence. Some of them had also apprised the central leadership of the party of Nitish having some sort of relation with the backward caste leaders of RJD, which may prove to be detrimental to the party. The national leadership of party by nominating an upper caste Bhumihar to the Rajya Sabha has made its stand clear that in future it would give credence to the needs and voice of the upper castes.

The BJP has already held virtual rallies, it has held organisational meetings and on Saturday Nadda held a meeting with BJP MPs from Bihar. Among the main items on the agenda was a discussion on the seat-sharing arrangement.

It is said it is the declining popularity graph of Nitish that has turned the BJP leaders sceptical. The common perception that he is in alliance with BJP has been of much help to him. The callous handling of the migrant labour issue and corona continuing to ravage the state has simply eroded his base. A lot of derogatory adjectives are being attributed to him. . It is alleged that he is so obsessed with his present and future role that he has no time left to look into the welfare of the state and wellbeing of the people.

The manner in which things are moving the chances are bleak of BJP retreating from his stand. A senior leader said “BJP is determined to get a bigger role in Bihar. Its support base has widened”. He further holds; “If we contest an equal number of seats and manage to win more than the JDU, then it will establish that our support base has widened”. The party does not intend to lose the initiative. The party is also not in the mood to subscribe the JD(U) stance “Modi may be the pan-India brand, in Bihar Nitish is the NDA’s tallest leader.”

The BJP had always been a junior ally to the JDU in Bihar before Nitish snapped the 17-year-old ties with the saffron party over the projection of Modi as the Prime Minister candidate in 2013. When the Bihar leader returned to the alliance in 2017, the BJP was no longer the party he had dealt with in the past.

Sources maintain that the decision to contest more seats is a tactical move to send the message to the upper castes people that BJP was ready to assert its status and authority and would no more play second fiddle to Nitish. There is a lurking apprehension in the BJP leaders that following some incidents of insult to the upper caste Brahmins and Rajputs in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, the upper castes in Bihar may also shift their loyalty to the Congress. This trend may cost the party heavily. The upper castes are of the view that the BJP must not behave like a B-team to the parties surviving on the support of the backward castes. (IPA Service)