Patna:
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party, the Janata Dal United or JDU, is likely to make a formal announcement on ending its 18-year-old alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday.
Yesterday, as he returned to Patna from a tour, Mr Kumar virtually announced that his partnership with the BJP is over.
"It is time to take a decision... conditions are tough now," he said, though he looked relaxed and smiled as he offered an obituary of his partnership. "Dua dete hai jeene ki, dawa karte hai marne ki (You wish me a long life, but offer medicines that will poison me)." The remark alludes to the BJP's decision to grant VVIP status to Narendra Modi, which has driven the alliance to break point.
(At break point, a look at what Nitish has against Narendra Modi)The BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain's response was also dispatched as a couplet. "Hum dua bhi dete hain, dawa bhi dete hain. Hum jise dost banate hain, unhe hum kabhi daga nahi dete hain! (We offer medicines and prayers, but those who we befriend, we do not betray)."
Wounded, the BJP has struck back with recriminations. BJP leaders say the JDU is trying to poach their legislators for the trust vote Mr Kumar will have to take after the alliance ends. The JDU is four seats short of a majority.
(Under pressure, coarse words between Nitish Kumar's party and BJP)Yesterday, JDU president Sharad Yadav conceded that the crisis has been stoked by the BJP's recent decision to choose Mr Modi to head its election campaign.
"If the influence of BJP leaders like LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee diminishes, that affects us," said Mr Yadav.
The JDU alleges Mr Modi did not do enough to stop hundreds of Muslims from being killed in Gujarat's communal riots of 2002.
Mr Modi's promotion was also opposed by a faction of BJP big-hitters like LK Advani who worry that the next step will be a prime ministerial nomination for the Gujarat chief minister.