JD-U, BJP must be flexible

The planned interaction of Bihar chief minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar with BJP president Amit Shah in Patna last Thursday ended on a positive note, going by what Mr Shah told the media. There were no contrary voices from the JD(U) camp. This suggests that the NDA allies are ready to be constructive toward one another, which is a necessary condition if the NDA plans to do well in the next Lok Sabha poll, especially when so much baggage has accumulated in the past four years or so.

NDA allies in western and southern India have given the BJP little comfort, with the Shiv Sena playing hardball at every step and the TDP having walked out of the alliance in Andhra Pradesh. In UP too, the BJP’s smaller allies do not appear to be in a happy frame of mind. The Hindi-speaking states were crucial to the BJP’s major victory in 2014, which was constructed on the basis of alliances.

This is where the importance of the JD(U) kicks in for the BJP, especially in a key Hindi-speaking state. But without the BJP, the JD(U) too will be in a fix. For the JD(U), going it alone is not an option as it might just be for the TDP, the Shiv Sena or even the Akali Dal. Unlike the JD(U), each of these parties has an entrenched presence in their states.

The JD(U) is principally a one-man show, and is currently under tremendous pressure from the RJD, which has wrested from its seats in byelections even when Lalu Yadav is away in jail and hospital and the RJD is led by his younger son, the 28-year old Tejashwi Yadav.

The JD(U)’s weakened state and the BJP’s need for an ally in Bihar suggest that the two will try to negotiate sensibly for Lok Sabha seats in the state. This was their real bone of contention.