Why BJP went back to Nitish Kumar despite PM Modi calling him shameless

New Delhi: On November 8 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar shameless for his derogatory and objectionable remarks on population control, saying he had insulted the country before the entire world.

Rightly so for Kumar had given a vulgar graphic description of the sex education in the Bihar assembly with some women legislators sitting in the House.

And 80 days later, the Prime Minister once again aligned with Kumar to form a coalition government in the state.

Kumar's Janata Dal (United) dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) once again to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that he had abandoned in August 2022. This is the fourth time Kumar has switched political partners since 2013, earning him the nickname of 'Paltu Ram'.

Prior to Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had on February 25 last year announced that the BJP's doors were forever closed for 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram' (turncoat) Kumar. 

“Vikaswaadi se Awasarwadi ban gaye hai Nitish Kumar (Nitish Kumar has turned opportunist from an evolutionary) for the dream to become Prime Minister, he had said.

So, what explains this turnaround?

After its stupendous victory in three states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and with the Ram Temple taking centre stage in its strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP looked comfortably placed. 

BJP leaders have been repeatedly claiming that their party will cross 400 seats this time. If that is the case, switcheroo Kumar's re-entry into the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will make no difference to the BJP.

In fact, he will end up being a liability given that his credibility has taken a massive hit due to his frequent changing of political partners. He is no longer the 'Sushashan Babu', a good governance man who held sway over a significant number of seats and was instrumental in securing power in Bihar. 

His political clout and the numbers have consistently dropped over the years. From 115 seats in 2010, the JD(U) strength had decreased to 43 in 2020.

As far as Kumar's party is concerned, there was a visible unease among its leaders over the growing popularity of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. 

JD(U) leaders were of the view that their party would bag not more than five seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as part of the grand alliance while the party could retain the 2019 tally of 17 seats if it aligned with the BJP, riding on Modi's popularity and the Ram Temple euphoria.

But how will Kumar help the BJP? By once again aligning with Kumar and going back on its repeated announcements and pronouncements, the BJP has shown that the situation on the ground is different from its claims. 

The fact is that the BJP does not want to take any risk and for it every seat counts. Hence, Kumar remains politically relevant for the BJP and that is why it agreed to make him the chief minister, at least for now.