Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s meeting with Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh at his Patna residence would have otherwise passed off as ordinary. Despite murmurs of him being sidelined, Harivansh continues to be an MP from the Janata Dal (United) besides occupying a constitutional post.

But Nitish Kumar’s visit to Harivansh on Tuesday did not come under ordinary circumstances. It came amid intense speculation that the unpredictable Nitish Kumar was considering yet another switch back to the National Democratic Alliance.

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The meeting also assumed significance since it was the Bihar CM’s first meeting with Harivansh after he severed ties with the BJP and formed a government again with the support of Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress and the Left.

Harivansh, who continued as the Deputy Chairman of the Upper House despite Nitish’s fallout with the BJP, is seen by many in political circles as the Bihar CM’s “channel of communication” with the saffron party.

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The meeting between the two leaders follows Nitish holding a number of meetings with JD(U) MPs, MLAs, and MLCs in Patna over the past week. The meetings came against the backdrop of Ajit Pawar’s revolt in NCP against his uncle and Maharashtra stalwart Sharad Pawar. Nitish Kumar’s fear of a similar revolt against him within the JD(U) is believed to have led to the slew of meetings in the past five days.

And one can’t really fault Nitish for his insecurities. His decision to ally with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, a party the JD(U) and Nitish have historically contested with far more bitterness than the BJP. Several of the JD(U)’s own leaders owe their victories to their stand against the RJD and Congress in the Lok Sabha elections.

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With Nitish himself leading efforts to unite the Opposition, JD(U) leaders quietly admit that they are concerned about their chances to get a ticket in the 2024 elections and peeved with the fact that Nitish was allowing so much space to Congress, particularly Rahul Gandhi.

The speculations of Nitish Kumar’s U-turn also coincided with the CBI filing a supplementary chargesheet in the cash-for-jobs scam, naming RJD leader and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav. Notably, Nitish had first broken ties with the RJD in 2017 citing cases of corruption against Lalu’s younger son Tejashwi. While Nitish had then hoped that Tejashwi’s resignation would salvage the situation, Lalu put his foot down and refused, leading to Nitish parting ways with the RJD.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Nitish’s former deputy Sushil Modi on Monday said that the BJP will not accept him back “even if he rubs his nose at our doors”.

“Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it very clear in the beginning that we will not accept Nitish Kumar at any cost. Even if Nitish Kumar rubs his nose at BJP’s doors, we will not accept him. The BJP will not carry his baggage,” he said yesterday.

Nitish himself finds himself in a Catch-22 situation. While the Opposition meeting saw a unanimous call for Rahul Gandhi to be made prime ministerial candidate, the RJD has been pushing for Nitish’s candidature for the post so that Tejashwi can be handed the CM post in Bihar.

Nitish has himself announced on multiple occasions that the Grand Alliance will contest the next elections in the state under Tejashwi’s leadership. While Nitish may be secretly wishing he loses out in the race for the Opposition’s PM face, a rebellion in his own ranks may scuttle his plan to cling to power altogether.

Nitish knows that he is bound to be phased out if he continues with the RJD, and is doomed to slip into oblivion without it!