Nitish Kumar visits Gujarat after 14 years to attend Vijay Rupani's swearing-in ceremony

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s presence at the oath taking ceremony of Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar has opened the door for the JD(U) chief to play a larger role in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in times to come.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP’s) visible differences with its alliance partner Shiv Sena in Maharashtra has established the importance of Janata Dal (United) as an ally within the NDA, ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

However, it took Nitish 14 years to cross that bridge.

In 2003, a year after the Gujarat riots, Nitish, then Union railway minister, had visited the state for inaugurating a rail project and praised Narendra Modi, who was at the helm in state. But things changed drastically, only five years after the incident, when Nitish the chief minister was readying for the next Assembly elections.

In an effort to woo minority votes, Nitish did not allow Modi to campaign in Bihar. Relations between the two regional satraps further deteriorated when Nitish cancelled a dinner for Modi in Patna in 2010, after the BJP advertised a photo of him alongside Modi in prominent newspapers.

But despite the discomfiture, Nitish continued his alliance with NDA and the BJP-JD(U) combine registered a massive victory in 2010 Bihar Assembly elections. However, Modi’s elevation as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate did not go down well with Nitish and he announced the end of 17 years of bonhomie with the BJP in 2013.

However, the Bihar chief minsiter could not stop the Modi wave in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and his party was reduced to two seats in the Lok Sabha. Stunned by the defeat, Nitish then decided to join hands with his old foe Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which ensured a thumping victory for Mahagathbandhan in 2015 Assembly elections.

However, this alliance of compulsions, as JD(U) leaders admitted, lasted only 18 months when Nitish took a U-turn and decided to reunite with BJP. The move although was announced on 27 July this year, signs of Nitish softening towards the BJP were visible from much before. Nitish was one of the first non-BJP chief ministers to openly support surgical strike against Pakistan and the Modi government’s move to demonetise Rs 500 and 1,000 notes. The prime minister, on his part, heaped praise on the Bihar chief minister when he came to participate in birth anniversary of Guru Govind Singh in Patna last year.

The BJP has sensed the importance of Nitish after the hard fought victory in Gujarat. JD(U) general secretary Sanjay Jha, close aid of Nitish who accompanied him at the swearing-in ceremony of Rupani, said, “Till very recently Opposition rued that Nitish lost a chance to project himself as a national leader. But who can deny the fact that he still is an undisputed leader and commands respect across the country.”

“Nitish ji will definitely try to strengthen NDA to win 2019 general elections. If it requires campaigning outside Bihar, he would be okay with that,” Jha asserted adding that BJP top brass and Nitish had better understanding of the political situation and there should be no confusion about that.

The next big challenge for BJP is to retain its government in Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh bound to go to polls next year, apart from Karnataka. Social analyst Shaibal Gupta believes that Nitish could prove a useful asset for the BJP if he campaigns in these states.

“BJP actually needs a leader like Nitish. He is a popular face even in Gujarat where Patidars seem to have voted for Congress in a large number. Same applies to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where he can help consolidate OBC vote bank,” Gupta said.

Nitish’s clean image and an inclusive approach is also being cited as a boon for the NDA, apart from his traditional Kurmi caste support base. A top leader of JD(U) said that Nitish was specially requested to attend the function as his presence at the oath-taking ceremony of Rupani also marked a show of strength for the NDA .