Nitish Kumar fears experiencing betrayal once more. This is the reason Nitish is stressing the importance of collaborating with the NDA’s member parties. Nitish emphasized in the meeting the importance of holding NDA meetings at all levels, from booth to state, to convey a unified message to the public during the assembly elections. JDU, which has remained at 43 seats in 2020, aims to learn from previous experiences and proceed with caution. Hence, during the NDA meeting, no topic was brought up that has become a headache for the NDA member parties.
Following the 2020 election results, JDU began to have suspicions about BJP. Chirag Paswan attempted to damage JDU’s reputation by not running a candidate against BJP in the recent assembly elections. Chirag achieved success as well. Though the NDA government came into power, Nitish’s party JDU won only 43 seats. Nitish Kumar assumed the role of CM, yet he believed that BJP orchestrated the game. Because BJP now desires to take control in Bihar too.
Therefore, JDU decided to leave NDA and join RJD in 2022. However, Nitish only maintained the alliance with RJD for a year and a half before rejoining NDA. Nitish’s sudden change of direction significantly damaged his reputation, but now he aims to make history in Bihar by attracting all the NDA members. Nitish has had a strong performance rate in the Lok Sabha elections, and the central government is being supported by Nitish’s political party.
BJP is currently in a defensive position. Hence, as BJP did not secure a majority in the Lok Sabha elections, they declared then that NDA would participate in the 2025 assembly elections with Nitish leading the way. This time the BJP does not have much influence in the state to make significant moves. Simultaneously, LJP (R), Chirag Paswan’s party, is making efforts to improve ties with Nitish, although concerns arise over the BJP members’ ability to resonate with Nitish Kumar, who has twice left the party to join RJD.
Nitish Kumar and his generals have convened a meeting today in response to these potential outcomes. During this meeting, particular attention was given to the importance of NDA unity. Clearly, the current NDA consists of BJP, JDU, LJP (R), Hindustani Awam Morcha led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha led by Upendra Kushwaha.
Nitish Kumar was part of NDA in 2019 and during the Lok Sabha elections, NDA won 39 seats in Bihar. However, the state of the NDA was poor during the 2020 assembly elections. Because of Chirag’s resistance, Nitish’s seat count decreased to 43 and he, along with BJP, managed to establish the government by a narrow margin of only 12 thousand votes ahead of their rivals. During this Lok Sabha election, the Mahagathbandhan secured victories in 10 seats, compared to just one.
While Congress and the Left are in a solid coalition with RJD, Mukesh Sahni’s VIP Party is also in alliance with Tejashwi Yadav to jointly participate in the upcoming assembly elections. They are actively seeking success. It is clear that the NDA constituent parties have also grown in number within the Mahagathbandhan compared to the last election. That’s why the competition is intriguing. It’s evident that this is going to occur. In 17 months, Nitish Kumar has been busy informing the youth about the wrongdoings of Tejaswi Yadav’s government in providing jobs.
Nitish Kumar has held the position of Chief Minister for the past 19 years and currently holds a high position. This is the reason why there is also a high level of anti-incumbency. In this scenario, Mukesh Sahni and the Left RJD are receiving significant backing. A different narrative from the past 19 years is unfolding, with its preview set for presentation. This was evident during the elections. This is why people are saying that Tejaswi Yadav, RJD’s young leader, managed to attract the youth to his side, leading to a potential shift in power. Clearly, Nitish and his team are attempting to prevent it from starting. This is the reason why constituent parties are holding large meetings at the district level in an effort to form strong alliances.
Nitish Kumar’s message for the upcoming election was made clear during a meeting with MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and district presidents of NDA’s constituent parties, indicating the uncertainties within JDU leaders.
Nitish and his generals believe that even though RJD won 39 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they were unable to come to power in the 2020 assembly elections because they had fewer MLAs. However, the Mahagathbandhan has emerged victorious in 10 Lok Sabha seats this time. So, it is crucial for the NDA to stay cohesive in order to prevent RJD from having a significant impact in the upcoming assembly elections.