New Delhi: After an emphatic "No", it turns out what the BJP actually means is "Yes."
Two days after the party told Shibu Soren that their deal in Jharkhand was over, a BJP spokesperson said, "The decision to withdraw has been put on hold."
The BJP-Soren marriage ran into trouble when the BJP caught the Jharkhand Chief Minister with the political equivalent of lipstick on his collar: he was seen voting against his ally twice in parliament, thereby supporting the UPA government. At first, Soren was inscrutable about his infidelity. "I had to vote for someone," he said, "so I went with the Congress."
Within hours, Soren had decided he wanted to kiss and make up. Three written apologies were sent to the BJP, which said it was over. So what's changed since then?
If the BJP bows out, President's Rule will be introduced in Jharkhand, giving the Congress the upper hand. And Soren, in an attempt to stay in power, has told the BJP it can pick a new chief minister as long as his replacement is a tribal leader.
It's unclear whether Soren's son, an MLA in Jharkhand and a leader of Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ( JMM ), is onboard with these plans. He is reportedly livid with his father for endangering their relationship with the BJP. Now, he says, cryptically, "The BJP make us an offer."
Soren Sr and Jr will travel to Delhi soon to talk shop with the BJP, which has reportedly shortlisted Yashwant Sinha as the frontrunner for Chief Minister, with Arjun Munda as its second choice.
The BJP has to tread carefully. A fraction of the JMM has indicated it would like to break away and join the Congress, if the Sorens agree to propping up a BJP chief minister. Six MLAs are likely to split, leaving Soren with 18. The BJP and its allies, including the JMM, would then have 38 MLAs, short of the halfway mark of 41 MLAs that the BJP needs to come to power.