Even as the deadline given by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav to explain the corruption charges framed by the CBI or quit the coalition government, is about to end, the BJP in Bihar has demanded that Kumar resign to pave way for fresh elections. All eyes are now on the chief minister, who is keeping the cards close to his chest.
Sources in Patna said the BJP's action may be a pressure tactic to push the deputy chief minister and his father Lalu Prasad Yadav, chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), to the edge. However, it is being interpreted as the BJP's attempt to force elections, in the belief that the saffron wave that brought the BJP to power in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh will bring the party to power in Bihar, too.
It is not clear yet how Kumar is viewing the BJP's demand. The party has 53 seats, and sources say it could well win three-fourths majority if elections are held within the next three or four months. The Bihar assembly polls were held in September 2015, when a "grand coalition" of the RJD, JD(U) and the Congress, took on not just the BJP, but also its face—Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP's demand for Kumar's resignation, however, may well bring credence to Lalu's statement that the BJP was using the CBI to crush the alliance, and that next it would target some other leader. While the JD(U) leadership, particularly K.C. Tyagi, believes that the ball is in the court of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, it appears that the Congress has not proactively done anything to solve the Bihar political crisis.
