The Janata Dal (United) of Nitish Kumar has been pressing upon the BJP to seal the seat-sharing deal with NDA constituents for next year’s Lok Sabha polls well in advance to avoid rift within the partners. The party has demanded that it be given a ‘respectable’ number of seats out of 40, probably more than any other party in the alliance.
The party has now divulged that its demand for ‘respectable’ representation means it should be given chance to field candidates on at least 15 seats, The Indian Express reported.
However, BJP sources told the daily that the saffron party is not willing to give more than 9 seats to the JD(U) which includes two seats which it had won in 2014, 4 seats being represented by the RJD, 2 seats of the Congress and 1 of the NCP. At present, the JD(U) has just 2 MPs in the Lok Sabha against 31 MPs of BJP (22), LJP (6) and RLSP (3) combine.
But JD(U) sources say that this would be seen as a loss of face for Nitish. The party argues that these seats are present in those areas that have a strong presence of Yadav and Muslims. Sources said that in 2014 when the BJP performed stunning well on the Modi wave, these seats were bagged by the rival parties, therefore, the chances of JD(U) candidates winning in 2019 from these seats are very thin.
According to JD(U) sources, there is still a way to find out a solution. They said that the BJP should give the Nitish Kumar-led party chances to expand its reach outside Bihar. They said that Atal Bihar Vajpayee and LK Advani had given the JD(U) seats in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Karnataka. Sources said that the current BJP leadership can “compensate us outside Bihar”.
They said that if the JD(U) expands its reach, the NDA can utilise Nitish Kumar’s services across the country.
The discussions come in the midst of reports that Nitish Kumar may quit the NDA. The IE report said that Nitish is hopeful that since he has given full representation to the BJP in his Cabinet, as a reciprocal action, the BJP would do likewise.
JD(U) sources said that Nitish Kumar was looking forward to the allocation of a key portfolio to his party like Railways. It said that JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP and Nitish’s confidante Ram Chandra Prasad may be inducted into the Central Cabinet. But one year has passed and nothing concrete has happened.
The absence of options for Nitish has now given rise to speculation that he may return to the Grand Alliance. The Congress party has already backed the idea to bring Nitish back, a proposal that has failed to excite the RJD with Tejashwi Yadav announcing that doors of the Grand Alliance are closed for Nitish.
Sources in the RJD told IE that even if the Congress insists on taking Nitish back, Tejashwi will demand that he relinquish the CM’s chair for RJD considering that his party is the single largest party in the current assembly.
On the other hand, JD(U) sources said that on his return to the BJP last year, Nitish Kumar noted that it was not the same old BJP anymore. Besides, the BJP has also not appreciated the JD(U) leader for his decision to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi on critical issues including surgical strikes, demonetisation and GST, they felt.
Meanwhile, against all these discussions, all eyes are now set on the July 12 meeting between BJP president Amit Shah and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar in Patna. Leaders of both the parties and other NDA partners are hopeful that the meeting will yield some positive result.
