Political Stir In Bihar Intensifies, Speculation Of JDU And BJP Alliance Breaking Up
Bihar, 8th August 2022: Recently, the stir in the politics of Bihar has intensified. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of all the MLAs and MPs of Janata Dal (United), on Tuesday. All is not well in the JDU and BJP coalition government in the state. The discussion has reached such an extent that Kumar’s party can end the alliance with BJP. The basic speculations and disagreement from Kumar against the BJP lie in:
1. CM Nitish Kumar wants Vijay Kumar Sinha to be removed from the post of Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. The CM has expressed his displeasure with Sinha on multiple occasions. The CM alleges that the Speaker is violating the Constitution by raising questions against his government.
2. Kumar was also displeased when only one JD(U) leader was offered a place in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet. During the cabinet expansion in Bihar, the CM gave ministerial posts to eight leaders of his party, while only one seat was kept vacant for BJP, clearly showing the displeasure of the JDU chief.
3. The JDU chief is also against the idea of holding simultaneous elections in the states and at the Centre. Simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and different assemblies were suggested by PM Modi, which has been strongly opposed by the opposition parties. – this is an issue on which the views of JD(U) completely coincide with those of the opposition.
4. Sources say that CM Kumar wants more authority in electing BJP ministers in his cabinet. Whereas, it is believed that Home Minister Amit Shah chooses his close acquaintances for the Bihar cabinet. For example, Sushil Modi remained the Deputy Chief Minister of the State for several years, while the high command handed him responsibilities outside the state.
5. Nitish Kumar is also upset over the BJP-led central government’s offer of symbolic representation to allies in the form of Union ministers. Former Union Minister RCP Singh had spoken directly to the BJP leadership, bypassing Kumar to become a Union Minister. On this, JDU National President Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said, “What is the need to join the Union Cabinet? The Chief Minister had decided in 2019 that we will not be a part of the Union Cabinet.”
6. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not attend the meeting of NITI Aayog chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No official reason has been given for this yet. According to sources close to the Chief Minister, Kumar did not attend the meeting citing physical weakness after the corona infection. The CM was found infected with Corona on July 25. However, after recovering from the infection, he has been involved in a few programs.
7. However, JD(U) has sidelined speculations of a rift with the BJP and claimed all is well in the alliance. Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan cited JDU’s support in the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections for this. “Our former state president and Rajya Sabha MP Vashisht Narayan Singh cast his vote by reaching the polling station in a wheelchair. There cannot be a stronger display of our commitment to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP,” he said.
