JD (U) crisis deepens as Nitish accuses Kushwaha of cosying up to BJP

Although Nitish, who is aspiring to play a role in the national politics by bringing non-BJP opposition parties on a single platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, sought to downplay the “revolt” by Kushwaha, the latest developments in his party are likely to keep him engaged in resolving the party issues, at least for some time

By Dheeraj Sinha from Patna

The showdown between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD (U) Parliamentary Board Chairman Upendra Kushwaha seemed to have entered the final stage today (Wednesday, January 25) with Nitish accusing Kushwaha of being in touch with the BJP and asking him to “join the saffron party whenever he wishes to”.

Without naming Kushwaha, Nitish said: “He (Kushwaha) is free to go whenever he wishes to. He is also free to celebrate and entertain himself over his anti-party statements. My party is not weak as the number of party members has swelled from less than 50 lakhs to 75 lakhs now.”

Although Nitish, who is aspiring to play a role in the national politics by bringing non-BJP opposition parties on a single platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, sought to downplay the “revolt” by Kushwaha, the latest developments in his party are likely to keep him engaged in resolving the party issues, at least for some time.

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Getting more specific in his attack, Nitish said Kushwaha was spreading canard by claiming that the BJP was in touch with him (Nitish). He claimed that Kushwaha himself was willing to be in touch with the BJP.

Biggest Challenge

Nitish is facing the biggest challenge from within the party after he formed a new government with the Grand Alliance by snapping ties with BJP in August last year.

Kushwaha’s relationship with Nitish soured after he was not inducted into the state cabinet. Later, the distance between the two leaders increased further with Nitish declaring deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as his political heir. But perhaps the final blow to their relationship came when Nitish refused to make Kushwaha the deputy chief minister by pleading that there was no such arrangement when he had headed the Grand Alliance government last time. Although there were two deputy chief ministers from BJP quota in the former NDA government, Nitish attributed it to the pressure exerted by the saffron party that had emerged as the second largest party after RJD in the last assembly elections.

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Kushwaha had on Tuesday alleged that some JD (U) leaders had clandestinely entered into a deal with RJD under which Tejashwi was to be appointed CM of Bihar after removing Nitish from the post. He said that some JD (U) leaders wanted to weaken Nitish by forcing him to leave the CM.

Of Broken Promises?

Kushwaha who had merged his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) with JD (U) in 2021. It is claimed in some circles that Nitish had even promised to make Kushwaha his political heir.

In Bihar’s political parlance, Luv stands for the OBC Kurmi community and Kush for the OBC Kushwaha (Koeri) group. The two caste groups are together referred to as ‘Luv-Kush’, constituting nearly 10 percent of Bihar’s population. Kushwahas make up the largest OBC bloc in Bihar, after Yadavs, and it is estimated that they constitute around 7 per cent of the state’s population.

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Main/Featured picture of Upendra Kushwaha and Nitish Kumar from Wikipedia