I, Me, Myself: Self-preservation drives Nitish's record of making & unmaking friends

28-01-2024 Sun 09:02 | National | IANS

Patna, Jan 28 : Switching sides is not new for JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar. He has done that, as per his convenience, on several occasions in past as well and this is the reason why his opponents call him 'Paltimar'.

In 1994, Nitish Kumar left his old ally Lalu Prasad and formed the Samata Party with George Fernandes.

In 1995, Nitish Kumar contested against Lalu Prasad’s RJD but had to face a big defeat.

In 1996, he forged an alliance with the BJP, which was considered weak in Bihar. The alliance between the Samata Party and the BJP remained intact and the Samata Party transformed into Janata Dal (United) in 2003.

In the 2005 Assembly elections, JD(U) and BJP contested together to oust the 15-year-old RJD government with Nitish Kumar becoming the Chief Minister.

All was well in the JD(U)-BJP alliance until 2014, when the BJP projected then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate. The move angered Nitish Kumar and he alienated the BJP to form an alliance with the RJD. However, the JD(U) suffered a crushing defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

In 2015, the JD(U)-RJD-Congress coalition came to power after winning the Assembly polls and Nitish Kumar again became the Chief Minister of Bihar.

The JD(U)-RJD-Congress could not sustain for long and in 2017, Nitish Kumar returned to his old ally BJP. He again became the Chief Minister in the NDA government.

The JD(U) fought the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections as an NDA ally. He continued as the Chief Minister after the NDA won the 2020 polls.

In August 2022, Nitish Kumar again broke ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) once again.

A BJP leader, on the condition of anonymity, says that Nitish Kumar can truly do anything to remain in power. "He (Nitish Kumar) has neither policy nor principles. His ambition was to become the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, but when that was not fulfilled, he decided to make a comeback to the NDA again," the BJP leader opines.