Kurmi Nitish leads Yadavs – Defining image of battle for Bihar, Bihar assembly election, Bihar News, Bihar election Updates, Bihar political News

Kurmi Nitish leads Yadavs – Defining image of battle for Bihar

This image will be the defining image of battle for Bihar 2015. The political narrative had changed and a new chapter in caste politics is now being written. Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Sharad Yadav all from the dominant Yadav caste, which commands 16 per cent in the number game in Bihar, had accepted Nitish kumar from the Kurmi caste as their leader. Much before they announced Nitish's name - posters like these – ‘aage badhta rahe Bihar, phir ek baar Nitish Kumar’ – were plastered across Patna. Lalu Yadav is completely missing from the posters.

So what is the reason behind Lalu Yadav relenting to Nitish kumar? And how did Nitish's pressure tactics work?

Well, till Saturday afternoon, Nitish wasn't sure about how the events would pan out. In fact in his chat with close confidantes, he had conveyed that Janata Dal United would work towards an alliance with the Congress, minus the RJD. He was gearing himself for one of the toughest political battles of his life.

JDU leadership was convinced that Lalu Yadav had opened a line of communication with the BJP government at the Centre for finding a way out of his conviction in the fodder scam case which makes him the first Indian politician to lose his Lok Sabha membership.

He has been barred from contesting elections for 11 years, and by then he would have turned 76 years old. In Indian politics 70 is the new 60 and hence he would be able to revive his political fortunes. In fact, RJD sources say Lalu's family was against any such move...JDU believes the BJP's game plan was that in a triangular contest, the Mandal votebank will get divided which in turn would work in their advantage.

On Sunday, June 7, Nitish made the first move that caught both Lalu and Mulayam off guard – his cavalcade left Bihar Niwas and went to Tughlaq lane to meet Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. With that the message went that Nitish had an alternative plan.

Sources privy to that meeting at Mulayam's residence tell this journalist that Nitish Kumar read the riot act. He said that the advantage that the alliance had hoped to get is lost with the party not being formed despite the announcement. He further added that the confusion among cadres cannot be done away with anymore and then turned to Lalu – 'let's go to the battle field alone now, and talk post elections' he said.

But what clinched the deal was this premonition to the Yadav chieftain (Mulayam Singh Yadav) that if the BJP wins Bihar this year, then winning Uttar Pradesh in 2017 shouldn't be tough either. Mulayam was left searching for words. Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav left Mulayam's residence only for Sharad Yadav to return an hour later.

The talks had failed, that's what a senior JDU leader tells this writer. Nitish went back to Patna as per schedule and then received multiple calls from Delhi late at night. It was communicated to him that Mulayam and Lalu would announce his name as the CM candidate of the alliance at a joint PC next day.

Sources say Nitish had made it clear there would be no compromise or even discussion on his leadership, Lalu though wasn't ready to commit. Lalu had communicated to JDU leaders involved in talks that they should go to elections without announcing any name and that Nitish kumar would be 'understood as the CM candidate as he is the chief minister at present.' This ambiguity Nitish didn't agree to.

I attended the press meet held by Nitish Kumar a day later in Patna, just thirty minutes before the announcement came on 8th June. When I asked Nitish who gets to eat the mangoes and litchis, as Jitan Ram Manjhi was numbering the mangoes in the trees at 1 Anne marg, the official residence of CM in Patna.

He laughed over it saying he didn't care. In his typical style, Nitish feigned ignorance of any announcement being made in Delhi but the confidence on his face did reveal that he would have the last laugh. Sources close to the RJD supremo tell this writer that Lalu Yadav did try to contact the Congress president before the announcement, but she refused an appointment – clearly signalling that it was Rahul Gandhi who was holding the key in this alliance in Bihar.

Tej and Tejaswi Prasad, both the sons of Lalu Yadav, will be contesting the upcoming Assembly elections and Lalu plans to get Rabri Devi elected to the Rajya Sabha as 'a former CM Rabri would be entitled to a Lutyen’s Delhi bungalow', says a source. It's a major concern for Lalu as he had to vacate his 25 Tughlaq road house and move to a farm house at the outskirts of Delhi post his conviction.

The team behind Nitish Kumar is of Prashant Kishore, who managed Narendra Modi's election campaign in Gujarat. Senior JDU leaders tell this reporter that all major hoardings in the city and on national highways have already been booked for the next few months till the end of elections in November. The battle lines in Bihar are drawn...the leaders are fighting over mangoes, over litchis also over hoardings...win or loss, this election has chosen its central character. It’s Nitish Kumar and it will be about his quest for power.

src:ibnlive

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