With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar passing a crucial trust vote in the assembly, stage is now set for a keen Lok Sabha contest in the state.
Nitish's return to the NDA fold and the likely entry of Jayant Chaudhary-led RLD have smoothened the way for BJP in the Hindi heartland states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which together account for 120 Lok Sabha seats.
With the induction of these two parties, the BJP-led alliance has tried to address twin concerns over the issues of social justice and farmers.
Interestingly, both the parties were wooed after the government announced highest civilian awards for their respective icons - Karpuri Thakur and Chaudhary Charan Singh.
Nitish in his speech during the trust move attacked his previous partner, RJD, on the issue of law and order and corruptions. Deputy CM Vijay Sinha, a BJP leader, promised to make the state crime free—an apparent jibe at the RJD which is often attacked with ‘jungle raj’ jibes for Lalu Prasad Yadav's 15 year rule.
Lalu's son and former deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav hit out at Nitish for his repeated somersaults. His speech made it clear that the RJD will make Nitish's U-turns a poll issue and aim to drive sympathy for the repeated betrayals.
The tough challenge for the RJD-Congress combine would, however, be to keep the plank of social justice and caste census alive against the hindutva sentiment following the consecration of Ram Temple.in Ayodhya.
