Fear of Modi and BJP is turning Nitish Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal into natural allies

By Swati Deb New Delhi: What’s behind the deepening camaraderie between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal? Nitish has been effusive in his support for the latter for sometime now. On Tuesday, he backed Kejriwal’s demand for full statehood for Delhi and promised to raise the issue in Parliament. Not long ago, he had relieved six of his police officers to join the controversial Anti-Corruption Bureau in the capital state. If there’s a quid pro quo involved it’s not visible yet. But it’s difficult not to read political motives in these moves. [caption id=“attachment_2343734” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal. PTI[/caption] At loggerheads with the Centre over several issues, Kejriwal needs to find allies across the political spectrum. In case his running battle with the former escalates to a point where President’s rule becomes a distinct possibility, he requires the support of several parties to exert pressure on the government in Parliament. The same holds true for his full statehood demand too. But what’s the pressing necessity for Nitish Kumar to court Kejriwal aggressively? If sources in the JD(U) are to be believed, humbled after his poor performance in the legislative council elections in the state and quite unsure of the RJD vote bank shifting to him in the upcoming assembly elections, Nitish wants to rope in Kejriwal to provide a boost to his campaign. He had put his neck on the deck by unwisely stating that MLC elections will be the semi-final to the assembly polls, but had to eat humble pie as rivals BJP-led NDA picked up 13 seats of the 24. The results are a clear message that the RJD-JD(U)-Congress combine has unitedly “failed” to stem BJP’s momentum and the same fate would await them in the assembly polls. Much to the chagrin of Nitish Kumar, the BJP bagged 11 seats on its own — it contested 18 seats — and crucially recorded victory in key political hubs. A desperate JD(U)’s reading is that Kejriwal’s campaign against Narendra Modi and the BJP could prove handy at a time when caste equation involving Yadavs, Kurmis and a few other OBCs is not looking promising from the point of view of the party’s electoral prospect. The party anticipates trouble with Lalu Prasad’s RJD over seat-sharing and has developed doubts over the former’s ability to garner votes, even among his own community, Yadavs. “It’s time to look beyond caste. Bihar has suffered enough and a large, aspiring youth population does see Kejriwal’s anti-corruption plank with respect,” JD(U) leader KC Tyagi, who accompanied Nitish on the his visit to Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, said. However, sources said, both Kejriwal and Sisodia expressed their reservation over sharing the platform with Lalu Prasad as this would provide arsenal to the BJP again to mock at the AAP’s anti-corruption posturing. Lalu is convicted in the fodder scam and is out on bail now on the orders of the Supreme Court. “Kejriwal may choose not to campaign for the RJD nominees, but can opt to campaign for JD(U) along with Nitish Kumar,” a JD(U) source said. Nitish Kumar had backed Kejriwal during his Lok Sabha campaign against Narendra Modi in Varanasi in 2014 and had also supported the AAP during the fierce election campaign in Delhi. In desperation now, he wants a return of favour.