The JD(U)-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh is set to become a test case for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to forge a larger alliance at the national level for the 2019 polls.
The JD(U)-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh is set to become a test case for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to forge a larger alliance at the national level for the 2019 polls. In UP, Mr Kumar is keen to “accommodate” the Congress to form a larger alliance in the state to counter the BJP.
The JD(U) is holding a national council meet in Bihar on Saturday to take forward the party’s proposed merger with Ajit Singh’s RLD and Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. The one-day meet will also explore alliance options with smaller outfits, such as the Peace Party and a splinter group of the Apna Dal, in preparation for the UP polls. The JD(U) machinery has been activated to hold parleys with regional and smaller outfits like AUDF, JMM, AAP, TMC and TRS. Talks are also on with the Left parties. Mr Kumar has already given a clarion call to establish a “Sangh-mukt Bharat (Sangh-free India)”.
While there are murmurs about the possibility of Mr Kumar leading an anti-BJP grand alliance at the national level, the UP election is expected to be the first step in that direction. Aware that the JD(U) has virtually zero influence in UP, the Nitish game plan is to damage the BJP as much as possible in this crucial state.
The JD(U), intending to joining hands with the RLD, plans to target the Jat votes in western UP. Owing to the communal flare-up in Muzaffarnagar during the last general election, a large chunk of the Jat vote, which traditionally went to the RLD, had swung towards the BJP. Some in the JD(U) had told the media that if Ajit Singh’s son Jayant Chaudhary was projected as the chief ministerial candidate following the JD(U)-RLD pact, the Jat votes could shift to this combination. Mr Kumar was also keen to forge a grand alliance along with the Congress and BSP in UP. However, BSP supremo Mayawati is set to go alone.
As for the SP, Mr Kumar was apparently not too keen to join hands with Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party felt that “he (Mulayam Singh) cannot be relied upon”, It may be recalled here that it was Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav who had walked out of the grand alliance in Bihar, complaining about seat-sharing. There were allegations that the SP, whose leaders face a string of criminal cases, had struck a deal with the BJP.
Mr Kumar’s close aides are also in talks with the Trinamul Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and TRS, among other key players. Mr Kumar, in a recent interview to a TV channel, said on the record that at the national level “neither the Congress nor Left could be ignored” for a grand alliance. He pointed out that for a “broader alliance, both the Congress and Left are essential”.
