The stability of the opposition unity as well as the Nitish Kumar-led coalition government in Bihar got a respite on Tuesday, with the Congress-led 18 opposition parties unanimously deciding to field Gopalkrishna Gandhi as their candidate for the post of Vice President of India.
Janta Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav was present at the meeting where no other name was presented, giving an impression that the choice and manner were all designed to build bridges with Nitish Kumar, who has lately been upset with the way the Congress leadership is working—or rather not working.
Congress not only announced a name way before the BJP, but also presented a name that Nitish Kumar had been okay with for the post of the President of India.
A few days ago, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had advised his party leadership not to badmouth Nitish Kumar, and had reportedly telephoned him. In a reconciliatory mood, Nitish had kept out of Patna when the opposition's presidential candidate Meira Kumar went canvassing there.
In Patna, a meeting of the JD (U) took a decision that, at least for now, keeps the status quo of the alliance government as well as the opposition unity. It decided to give Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswani time to explain even as the BJP was putting pressure on Nitish Kumar to sack him, citing the CBI raids in the RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav's house as well as the premises of his children's properties in the national capital.
While Nitish has reiterated his commitment to opposition unity, and said that support to Ram Nath Kovind, BJP's candidate for president, was not relevant to it, Lalu Prasad Yadav has decided to stay with the opposition and build a grand alliance ahead of Lok Sabha 2019. This attitude, apart from political compulsions, has made the Congress speak in support of Lalu when he was cornered from all sides by the CBI and the enforcement directorate.
It is being seen as a breather for Lalu whose party has more seats than the JD(U) in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha. But BJP's Bihar leader, Nityanand Rai had told a press conference that if there were cracks in the alliance threatening to upset the Nitish Kumar government, the BJP would step in to support. But that is a statement, which the JD(U), particularly Nitish Kumar, has chosen to ignore for now.
