Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been moving strategically, craving an independent identity in the hurly-burly of national politics.
When Congress chief Sonia Gandhi called a luncheon meeting for all opposition leaders to discuss the upcoming presidential elections, Nitish Kumar decided to give it a miss. Instead, he sent in two senior JD(U) leaders— Sharad Yadav and K.C. Tyagi—to represent his party. However, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to discuss the "issues of his state". Kumar played down his decision to attend lunch with Modi, which the latter had hosted for visiting Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth.
Some of Nitish's moves and his differing views on various issues have confounded the opposition. After he praised demonetisation and the government's actions against black money, BJP had returned the favour by lauding him while they targeted his alliance partner Lalu Prasad Yadav.
This posturing ensured that he was spared from the stringent attack mounted by BJP on its rivals. At the same time, he maintained the image of an opposition leader who was different from the rest of his ilk. Barring Nitish, almost all non-BJP CMs have come under fire for one reason or another.
Even some BJP leaders feel that Nitish Kumar's posturing is aimed at keeping his alliance partner Lalu Prasad under check, lest the latter assert his influence over the state government. Despite invitations from state BJP leaders to return to the NDA fold, Nitish is unlikely to make a U-turn. He left NDA while opposing Modi's PM candidature.
Now, as joint opposition parties are trying to put up a candidate for the presidential elections, their unity will be tested. Nitish had engaged with leaders from parties like Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which remains equidistant from BJP and Congress.
If other opposition leaders took Modi head-on, Nitish carefully crafted his moves. In hindsight, they were a masterstroke. BJP reaped rich political dividends from demonetisation. The controversy around EVMs, which was raked up by the opposition parties, proved to a non-starter.
Nitish had insisted that the opposition should focus on unity, instead of questioning EVMs.
