New Delhi Aug 09 :- As its uneasy ally Nitish Kumar was racing ahead to switch sides yet again, BJP appeared to be simultaneously intrigued by the Bihar CM’s latest turn and reconciled to the prospect of ending up on the opposition benches despite having finished winner in a bitterly-fought election two years ago.
One day after JD(U) chief Lalan Singh’s “conspiracy” charge and amid fast-paced manoeuvres to fabricate a new coalition comprising Nitish and RJD, which will also have the support of Congress and Left, BJP sources acknowledged that the Bihar chief minister may have gone too far to retrace his steps. BJP sources said they had sniffed that something was afoot when Nitish started skipping important engagements and when RJD stopped attacking the Bihar government, but still felt that the Bihar CM would be wary of joining hands with Lalu Prasad yet again.
“We knew that Nitish Kumar, always a maximalist by instinct, wanted to increase his party’s dominance in the coalition despite having fewer numbers. We also had an idea that he and some of his JD(U) colleagues always wanted to go back to RJD, but did not expect him to up the ante so drastically, certainly not at this point, given that we gave him all the respect, often going overboard,” said a senior BJP source.
“Even if he does not cross over immediately in case RJD does not accept his terms for the rapproachement, this arrangement cannot continue too long,” the source said.
Party sources said if Nitish and Lalu hammer out a deal, he will sack BJP ministers and ask the government to fill up the vacancies from RJD, thus obviating the need to be sworn in.
BJP sources dismissed JD(U)’s charge of conspiracy and meddling in their internal affairs, insisting that the party ‘s diminution was caused by fatigue with Nitish and also that it was the Bihar CM who recommended RCP Singh for induction in the Union Cabinet.
“This entire narrative of BJP choosing RCP Singh as JD(U)’s representative in the Union Cabinet is a narrative that has been concocted by people close to Nitish who would have found it difficult to explain his recommendation of RCP Singh, a fellow kurmi.
The Bihar CM was quite clear about his choice of RCP Singh, but requested our top leadership to handle it discreetly lest Lalan Singh, the rival contender for berth in the Modi government, felt offended,” said a source who has been in the know of the series of talks between the Bihar CM and top BJP leadership.
He also said that it was only after Nitish Kumar had conveyed his preference to the BJP that Union home minister Amit Shah called RCP Singh, then the JD(U) chief, and told him that the BJP leadership would prefer to have him in the Union Cabinet.
RCP Singh said on Sunday that the Bihar CM also told him that he ( RCP) should join the Centre and he would make Lalan Singh the party chief in his place.
BJP sources did not agree with the suggestion that ideological differences as reflected in the statements of BJP leaders could have been the trigger for the dramatic downturn in allies. “This is another excuse. Both of us have been familiar with each other’s views and how they disagree,” said a senior functionary.
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