Patna: On May 16, 2014, catastrophe struck Nitish Kumar with BJP garnering a clear majority in the Lok Sabha polls. In an attempt at debunking the perilous situation, Kumar thought of taking to his beloved foe, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s assistance to bolster his grounds in the political realm. Though Lalu showed a cold shoulder to the Bihar CM initially, he called him back as he was left with no other option.
Both the parties might have realised that there was no other way but to work in tandem with each other if they were aiming at helming the state affairs in the forthcoming state assembly elections. Nitish Kumar’s pact with the RJD chief led to his prevalence over Modi, leading the duo's triumph in the Bihar assembly polls.
Nitish’s victory in the state polls might leave other prominent political parties in a tight spot considering the fact that his recent conquest might render him a secular picture. Besides, Modi would have to brace up in order to obliterate the impending danger that has been unleashed owing to his opponent- Nitish Kumar’s- resounding victory in the Bihar polls.
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It wasn’t all hunky-dory for Kumar initially. Tying knots with his political foe was a big challenge for him. However, the leader had no other option as his status then wasn’t potent enough to fight the BJP in the bypolls - the first litmus test for the duo after their pact.
The result of the bypolls gave some fodder to the Bihar CM then to hope for a comeback after his loss in the Lok Sabha polls. BJP bagged a meager 4 out of 10 seats in the bypolls. Though Kumar took certain erroneous decisions by deputing Jitan Ram Manjhi as the state’s CM, he later on recuperated and tweaked decision to quit and ensured that Lalu doesn’t come to Manjhi’s rescue.
His immediate efforts at overhauling the Janata Parivar helped him in gaining a secular image, who could prevent Bihar from the perils of communalism.
Though there were reports giving an inkling of a probable alliance between BJP and JD(U), with RSS’s hinting at a similar move, nothing of that sort turned up. Further, Nitish, instead of completely depending on the RJD chief chose to opt ally with the Congress. Considering the fact that Rahul Gandhi has always put forth a secular image, both the party’s affiliation worked in their favour.
Interestingly, the period also saw reports based on “speculation“ about BJP , and even a strong section in RSS, wishing to revive the alliance with JD (U), something which many in Patna saw as part of a psychological operation.
Despite Lalu being hesitant earlier as RJD had won more seats in Lok Sabha polls as compared to JD(U), gave in to the pervading political climate as he had no other option but to ally with JD(U) as he had no other option.
Thus, Bihar’s Abhimanyu- Nitish Kumar- though didn’t start off well, he succeeded in solving the riddle with an emphatic triumph at his foot.
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