BJP Blames JD (U) for Split: It’s A Betrayal of People’s Trust

NITISH KUMAR, CM, BIHAR

SHARAD YADAV, CONVENOR, JDU

NARENDRA MODI, CM, GUJRAT

SUSHIL MODI, LEADER, BJP

The Split is complete and wide open. With one stroke, the JD (U) ended 17 year old alliance with the BJP on Sunday afternoon when Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar announced their decision to pull out of the NDA and seek vote of confidence in the Bihar Assembly on June 19, 2013, three days from now to run the government without the support of the BJP. I have already mentioned in my earlier blog that Nitish may survive the trial of strength on the floor of the Assembly since the JD(U) has 118 Members in the House of 243. With the support of 5 or 6 Independents it has the strength of 123 or 124 MLAS which is just two more than the simple majority of 122 to remain in power. In any case, Nitish will remain vulnerable with a razor thin majority in the House.   

The BJP has blamed the JD (U) for breaking the ties and betraying the people of Bihar since the mandate was given to the coalition and not to any one party. Sushil Kumar Modi has declared that the Party would observe ‘betrayal day’ on Tuesday next – June 18.

There is no element of surprise in the formal split of ties between the two partners. What was noteworthy was the fact that though the shadow of Narendra Modi loomed large over the Press conference in Patna on Sunday, at no point the name of the Gujarat Chief Minister was mentioned either by Ssharad Yadav or by Nitish Kumar. What they said was nothing more than fear or apprehension that the BJP was deviating from the common agenda agreed to by the two Parties.

Only in muted tone, Sharad and Nitish said that they were forced to take the decision on the ground of their avowed ‘principle’. They even fought sigh of saying that they were ending up the relationship for the cause of so called ‘secularism’ or for that matter against the so called ‘communalism’.

The opponents of the BJP must have relished today’s development. The anti-BJP club now has one more member- the JD (U). What the Congress and its allies besides the federal front or third front forget that BJP is a cadre based Party. In Bihar the BJP workers are upbeat after parting of ways with the JD (U). How on earth a regional force like the JD (U) can dictate terms to a national Party like the BJP to dump its leader just because the former does not like the face of so and so. Can or will the Congress entertain any hint or idea from any quarter of political parties aligned to it to dump any leader say Manmohan Singh because the latter don’t like him for one reason or the other. Such things are unheard of in coalition politics.

Narendra Modi is a constitutionally elected chief minister of Gujarat and a senior leader of the Party. In Goa where I was present as a delegate of the National Executive Meeting early this month, Narendra Modi was most sought after leader at the meeting. The demand to project him as the chief campaigner came from the grass root and hence the decision to anoint him despite objections from the senior leader L K Advani and his camp followers.

Unconfirmed reports say that Advaniji has now blamed the decision taken in haste in Goa on Modi that led to the break of the NDA. Even if one assumes that no decision was taken in Goa, the JD (U) would have broken up on the eve of general elections Modi or no Modi since Nitish Kumar has his own ambitions. The BJP should welcome the end of its ties with the JD(U) rather lament on the development.

~R. K. Sinha