The importance of Nitish Kumar sharing dais with Amit Shah in Delhi

It is a clear message to all the voters in Bihar that NDA is united under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, said a JD(U) leader.

The joint rally of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday, the first ever since Janata Dal (United) returned to the BJP-led National Democratic Fron (NDA) in July 2017, is important in more than one ways.

Although Kumar’s equation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is well known and he had shared dais with the PM whenever he addressed rally in Bihar during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls campaign (PM addressed nine rallies in Bihar), sharing dais with Shah is a signal of new bonding and sends a sound message ahead of assembly elections later this year.

Shah had addressed 16 rallies in Bihar in the run-up to last year’s Lok Sabha polls.

When his own partymen were questioning his leadership and trying to corner Kumar on number of issues including loss in bypolls, it was Shah who clarified twice in public that the Bihar chief minister is the leader of the NDA in Bihar and elections will be fought under his leadership. Kumar had also reciprocated the gesture by removing Prashant Kishor and Pavan Verma from the party for their anti-BJP stand.

“The sharing of dais with Shah will go a long way to silence all critics of alliance - both inside and outside - that NDA is one, strong and intact,” said Bihar’s minister Sanjay K Jha, who is also in-charge of Delhi unit of JD(U).

On Sunday, BJP president JP Nadda attended one rally for a JD(U) candidate and Amit Shah addressed a rally for another JD(U) candidate. The JD(U) is contesting on two assembly seats in Delhi.

A senior NDA leader said that whether JD(U) performs well or not in Delhi, this ‘bonhomie’ is good sign for the party in Bihar.

“It is a clear message to all the voters in Bihar that NDA is united under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. This is also a signal that NDA wants to strengthen itself outside Bihar as this was the first rally of the NDA outside Bihar in which the JD(U) took part,” said party’s state spokesperson, Rajeev Ranjan Prasad.

Leaders of both the parties accept that recent poll debacles of the BJP in Maharashtra and Jharkhand - and earlier in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan - and the setback to JD(U) national party ambition during Jharkhand assembly elections has something to do with this ‘show of unity’. “While the BJP realised it cannot go on ignoring its allies, the JD(U) has also assessed the ground realities and anti-incumbency factor to show a united face and keep the caste dynamics together,” said a NDA leader, wishing anonymity.

However, PP Ghosh, director ADRI feels that one should wait a bit to see the impact of this bonhomie. “It is difficult to say at this moment. There are two main focal points of Bihar’s politics - social justice and development. The BJP and JD(U)’s activities were guided by allaying the fear of Lalu. That fear is gone and so has the urge to perform. So it remains to be seen how people take a look on these developments,” said Ghosh.

The BJP in Bihar is happy that the joint rally augurs well for both the parties ahead of Bihar assembly elections. “The joint election campaign by the NDA allies as well as political meetings of Nitish Kumar with our national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for Delhi assembly election is very significant. This sharing of dais by top NDA leaders will give big boost to our cadres not only for Delhi election but in Bihar. Our confidence is very high and we are sure to win not only Delhi, but Bihar assembly elections too,” said BJP’s spokesperson Nikhil Anand.