Nitish Kumar May Be Quiet Now, But His Compromise With BJP Rings Loud

Nitish has politely listened to Narendra Modi ridicule those opposed to Article 370 and chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ from same dais on which he was seated.

Patna: Nitish Kumar’s responses after the declaration of the assembly election results appear to be a part of his well-calculated measure to create the perception that he is reluctant to accept the chief minister’s job in the face of his party’s poor show and that the Bharatiya Janata Party brass are cajoling him to do just that.

Veteran socialist leader Shivanand Tiwary who has worked closely with Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar for over four decades says the latter has actually made quite a few compromises to ensure he gets the chief minister’s post.

“He has meekly acquiesced to the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s agenda of selectively targeting minorities and altering the basic spirit of the Indian constitution,” said Tiwary.

Nitish’s track record substantiates the above remark. He had resigned as the chief minister, shouldering the moral responsibility of JD(U)’s defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Portraying himself as the saviours of the Mahadalits, Nitish had installed Mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi as the chief minister. He had said that he would lead the 2015 assembly election campaign and become the chief minister only after winning the polls.

Janata Dal (United) President and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being greeted by party supporters as he arrives at party office, in Patna, Thursday, November 12, 2020. Photo: PTI

But within nine months, Nitish had unceremoniously removed Manjhi, taking over as Bihar chief minister once again.

He joined hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, and rang a call for “Sangh mukt Bharat” or RSS-free India. He had thus invoked his commitment to socialism and secularism. Several times, he had charged Narendra Modi with lying, making false promises and having ruled with a majoritarian bend.

But within two years after becoming chief minister of the Janata Dal (United), RJD and Congress mahagathbandhan, Nitish crossed over to the BJP which had Narendra Modi at its helm.

He has, so far, not furnished any convincing explanation as to why he joined hands with Modi, whom he had vociferously opposed for eight years between 2009 and 2017.


Nitish has camouflaged many of his intentions with high moral grounds. For instance, he entered into an alliance with the BJP for the Delhi assembly polls and shared the dais with Union home minister Amit Shah in February this year at a time when anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests were taking place across the country.

Nitish’s party supported the CAA in the parliament a few days after indirectly helping BJP in getting bills related to the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the triple talaq passed in the House.

But simultaneous with the passage of the CAA – with JD(U) support – Nitish was meeting with professors of the Kishengaj centre of the Aligarh Muslim University. He also stepped up frequenting the Imarat-e-Sharia, Phulwari Sharief and other Muslim shrines, promising all protection to minorities.

The assembly poll results have reduced his stature and BJP has systematically blocked all his escape routes. Modi and Shah have worked craftily to rob him off his ‘big brother’ status. The BJP first gave him an equal number of seats in 2019 Lok Sabha share. JD(U) won 16 against the BJP’s 17.

This share was repeated in the just concluded assembly election, where BJP and JD(U) had an almost equal number of seats. JD(U) has won 43 against BJP’s 74. There is no doubt who the big brother is now.

Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, BJP Bihar in-charge Bhupendra Yadav, BJP Bihar President Sanjay Jaiswal and MoS Nityanand Rai flash victory sign during a press conference following NDAs lead during the counting of votes for the Bihar Assembly Elections results, in Patna, Tuesday, Nov 10, 2020. Photo: PTI

Nitish is said to be upset that the BJP did not rein in Chirag Paswan, who led the Lok Janshakti Party to damage JD(U)’s chances on 25 to 30 seats.

According to observers, BJP might have propped up the LJP to act as an outlet for anti-Nitish voters to vent their anger through. The BJP supposedly planted over 15 of its cadres and rebels as LJP candidates who absorbed anti-Nitish voters, denying the benefit of anti-incumbency to the RJD led mahagathbandhan.

Also read: Bihar’s Election Has Shown That When it Comes to Politics, Social Justice Is Here to Stay

So, did Nitish indeed trade off his principles to remain in the seat?

About two months before the elections, top RSS functionaries are said to have had a closed-door meeting with Nitish at the latter’s 1 Aney Marg residence. They reportedly promised him continued role as the chief minister if he did not interfere with RSS’s larger agenda.

Nitish, who first went into an alliance with the BJP in 1996, had recorded his reservations to the Article 370 move, the triple talaq Act and the Gujarat model of industrial development. However, his party struck a different chord by supporting the BJP-piloted farm bills that triggered unrest in Punjab and other states in the country. In a way, he has acquiesced to the BJP’s model of development too.

While many have cited Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s tweets suggesting Nitish appoint Tejashwi Yadav as chief minister and join the opposition to counter Narendra Modi, it is practically impossible for Nitish to do this now.


The RJD has emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats and Tejashwi as the uncrowned hero of the elections. Tejaswhi in company with the resurgent Left will try to make the battle with the BJP in Bihar one that will propel him as a credible leader. Getting a discredited Nitish back into the fold does not appear to be on his agenda.

Also read: The Rise of Tejashwi Yadav Signals Significant Change in Bihar Politics

The perception gaining ground that the BJP with 74 seats in its kitty would trouble Nitish is not true. The BJP knows that despite having 74 seats, it cannot have a chief minister of its own. In such a situation, it will allow Nitish to carry on smoothly as long as he does not interfere with the RSS-BJP’s agenda of Hindutva.

And Nitish will have no objection to that. He has politely listened to Narendra Modi ridiculing those opposed to Article 370 and chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ from same dais on which he was seated.

His party’s candidates were also clearly ‘beneficiaries’ of the divisive speeches that Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath delivered in the Seemanchal region on the last leg of campaigning.

Nalin Verma is a senior journalist and author of Gopalganj to Raisina, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s autobiography. He has also authored The Greatest Folk Tales of Bihar.