Amid rumours of yet more rift in INDIA bloc, Rahul Gandhi sends feelers to Nitish Kumar

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has sent feelers to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, amid speculation of yet more rifts in the INDIA bloc ahead of next year’s general election. Gandhi could not speak to the Janata Dal (United) chief since he was in a meeting, but the two are expected to talk later on Friday, according to people aware of the developments. Though the agenda for the interaction is not yet known, there is speculation the two will speak on the fallout of Wednesday’s meeting, at which Nitish Kumar seemed to be overlooked as a possible convener for the group or a prime ministerial candidate. Kumar, it is believed did not see eye to eye with INDIA leaders on several issues, including renaming the bloc as ‘Bharat’. The proposal for renaming the alliance was swiftly rejected by Sonia Gandhi, it has been suggested. Kumar reportedly also got angry with Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a state ally, because Jha translated his speech from Hindi to Tamil for the benefit of political leaders from the DMK. There were also rumours that Nitish Kumar lashed out at the Congress after its dismal performance in November’s assembly polls in five states, which were widely seen as a dry run of INDIA’s pull with voters. The Congress was routed in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan - heartland states that INDIA must win (at least some anyway) in order to defeat the BJP – after seat-sharing disputes with allies. The JDU, Bengal’s Trinamool Congress, and the Samajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav had all called out the Congress for failing to acknowledge the need to share seats, particularly with regional parties. At the Delhi meet, held recently, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart, Arvind Kejriwal, proposed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as a potential convener and even Prime Minister, should INDIA actually defeat the BJP. Kharge immediately declined, saying he preferred to focus on first winning the election. Nitish Kumar has publicly refuted talk of his prime ministerial ambitions but, privately, is believed to be an aspirant. His party has been more explicit; in August and September, JDU leaders backed their boss for the country’s top job, and, this month, said he had “all the qualities and experience that a PM should have”. However, the JDU was careful to also acknowledge this must be a collective call. The “Kharge for PM” call has further thrown the INDIA bloc into disarray – which was created to unite the opposition so it might beat the BJP’s election-winning machinery. Nitish Kumar was one of its founder, and to lose him now, so close to the polls, will be an image issue INDIA can ill afford.