New Delhi: Speculation is rife about the possible split in the ruling coalition in Bihar and political realignments in the state.
If we look at the political posturing by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the past few weeks, fissures in the BJP – JD(U) alliance are quite evident.
The Bihar Chief Minister skipped the Niti Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 7 in a clear snub to the alliance partner.
Nitish Kumar did not participate in the meeting of all chief ministers called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 27. He decided to stay away from the farewell banquet hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind on July 22 and the swearing-in of NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu as the President of the country on July 25.
At the same time, media reports about Nitish Kumar’s two-round meetings with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav last week further fuelled the speculation of the two parties coming together once again and the change of government in Bihar. Notably, in 2015, JD(U) and RJD contested the Assembly elections together as part of Mahagathbandhan and formed the government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.
In 2017, Nitish Kumar pulled out of the alliance on the plank of ‘no corruption’ and joined hands with the BJP to continue as Bihar Chief Minister.
CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a nationwide opinion poll on behalf of IANS about the political churning going on in Bihar. During the survey, a majority of Indians opined that Nitish Kumar will break alliance with the BJP and again tie up with the RJD in Bihar.
According to the survey data, while 60 per cent believe that JD(U) will break away from the NDA and join hands with the RJD once again, 40 per cent respondents did not share the sentiment.
Interestingly, during the survey, while the majority of opposition voters – 64 per cent predicted a split in the ruling coalition in Bihar and JD(U) and RJD forging an alliance once again, the NDA voters were divided in their views with a bigger proportion replying on similar lines. As per the survey data, while 55 per cent NDA voters foresee the BJP-JD(U) alliance falling apart, 45 per cent disagreed.
During the survey, a majority of most of the social groups believe that the BJP-JD(U) alliance will fall apart in Bihar, and Nitish Kumar will once again form the government with the RJD. According to the survey data, 62 per cent Upper Caste Hindus (UCH), 62 per cent Other Backward Classes (OBC), 61 per cent Scheduled Castes (SC) and 65 per cent Muslims held this view.
IANS