Patna:
Will the BJP unhinge itself from its alliance with Nitish Kumar and his party, the JD (U), in Bihar? "You should all relax," was the Bihar Chief Minister's only response this morning, as he boarded his helicopter for a rally in Nalanda. (
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The atmosphere, however, was far from relaxed just an hour before that at the Raj Bhawan in Patna, where Modi and his Deputy Chief Minister, the BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi, attended the swearing-in of the new Chief Justice. The two leaders did not speak to each other through the ceremony.
Modi then left for his rally unescorted by any BJP leader - another ominous sign for a partnership that's been on the brink of collapse since last week. What shoved it there are a series of ads placed by the BJP in Bihar newspapers to coincide with the party's National Executive meeting in Patna last week - ads that left Kumar seething.
One of the ads showed him with Narendra Modi at a rally. Another highlighted Gujarat's donation to Bihar for the floods in Kosi in 2008. Kumar says the BJP did not seek his permission for the ads, and on Sunday, the Bihar government returned Gujarat's 5 crore donation. In earlier statements, Kumar had said Gujarat's decision to brag about its help to Bihar was in poor taste. (
Pics: Nitish-Modi standoff in Bihar)
Bihar votes later this year and Kumar, who needs to woo Muslim votes away from leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav, does not want his secular image to be tarnished by association with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Sharad Yadav, another senior leader of the JD (U), continues to emphasize that the controversy over the ads is not a stress test of his party's alliance with the BJP. "Whatever happened on the 12th should be forgotten," urged Yadav on Monday.
As Yadav bid for peace, BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who flew into Delhi, met senior leaders including LK Advani to decide on the alliance. Earlier on Monday, Bihar BJP chief, CP Thakur, met with senior leader LK Advani on the issue. Party sources say that Thakur requested that senior leaders make a final decision on the Nitish alliance within a week. (
Watch: Will Nitish-BJP alliance survive in Bihar?)
Meanwhile, the BJP meeting on BJP-JD(U) alliance concluded on Monday evening and no decision has been taken yet.
Back home in Bihar, not one of the 81 JD(U) MLAs have expressed any discontent with the Chief Minister's comments or actions. "Nitish Kumar has led the alliance in Bihar really well over the last five years ...and it is Nitish Kumar who is going to lead the campaign for us in the upcoming elections .....now how long the tie up with the BJP will continue is for the BJP to decide as they started all this," said Shivanand Tiwari, Spokesperson, JD(U). Kumar is a popular Chief Minister, and with elections around the corner, party members would prefer to be seen as close to him, not opposed to him.
LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan has asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to quit if he felt that BJP was "really a communal party".
"Don't enact a drama. If you (Kumar) really think that BJP is a communal party, rush to Raj Bhavan immediately (and resign)," Paswan told a press conference in Patna. (
Read: Now, Paswan attacks Nitish over BJP tension)