‘Paltu Ram’ Nitish Kumar’s Potential NDA Comeback: ‘Can’t Beat Modi, Join Him’

Chief Minister of Bihar and president of Janata Dal (United) Nitish Kumar is once again the subject of the “will he, won’t he” debate as rumors circulate that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is prepared to welcome him back.

If and when it occurs, Nitish Kumar would have switched jobs five times since taking office as chief minister in November 2005. The last time he made a U-turn was in 2022 when he broke with the BJP in August in order to build a grand coalition and stay in power with the RJD, Congress, and other Left parties.

Sushil Modi will serve as Nitish Kumar’s deputy when he takes the oath of office as chief minister of the JD(U)-BJP coalition on Sunday, according to sources cited in an article on India today..

Due to his five allegiance switches, Nitish Kumar is sometimes called “Paltu Ram” (turncoat).

“Join Him, You Can’t Beat Modi”: Inside Information About Nitish’s Reversal
Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar who has served the longest, is said to have been frustrated with the INDIA bloc for not giving him a role in the alliance worthy of his status and realizing that “if you can’t beat Modi, join him.”

Leaders close to 72-year-old Kumar claim that the INDIA alliance conference on January 13—during which Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was designated the convenor of the Opposition bloc—was the pivotal event.

According to an NDTV report, Nitish Kumar’s name was put forth as convenor by CPM Leader Sitaram Yechury and supported by nearly all leaders, including Lalu Yadav and Sharad Pawar. However, Rahul Gandhi intervened and stated that Trinamool Congress leader and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had concerns about Nitish Kumar being appointed to the position.

As the deputy chief minister of Bihar for the RJD, Tejashwi Yadav had previously noted that Mamata Banerjee had chosen not to attend the meeting and that, with the support of the majority for Kumar, her approval should not be the deciding factor. According to the report, neither Mallikarjun Kharge nor Sonia Gandhi made an effort to remove Rahul Gandhi from office at that time.

According to intimate sources, Nitish Kumar thought that he would never be able to remove Narendra Modi from office in that manner. As a result, he took up the mentality that “join him if you can’t beat him,” according to the report’s sources.

JD(U)-BJP Agreement Completed?
According to a BJP ally, the grand JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance government in Bihar is about to collapse, and Nitish Kumar will have the support of the BJP-led NDA as soon as he severs his links with the RJD, which is the largest party in the INDIA bloc in the state.

Speaking to reporters in Patna, JD(U) spokesman KC Tyagi said that his party saw itself as the creator of the INDIA bloc and challenged Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the party, to address the issues raised by allies like the Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress.

According to reports quoting sources, Sushil Modi, the senior leader of the saffron party, may be sworn in as chief minister and Nitish Kumar as the chief minister of the JD(U)-BJP-led Bihar government on Sunday, January 28.

Nitish’s Dropped Hints
A number of recent events, which are now being interpreted as clues by Nitish Kumar, are linked to the conjecture that the leader of JD(U) is preparing to rejoin the BJP-led NDA, which he left less than two years ago, and that his coalition with the RJD is likely to fall apart.

Nitish Kumar criticized “dynastic politics,” which is something that the Congress is often criticized for, during his speech at the Patna rally on Thursday. Nitish said the JD(U) didn’t promote any family members inside the party hierarchy, imitating the late leader’s strategy.

Following this, the Bihar BJP supported Nitish Kumar on Thursday, citing allegations that Rohini Acharya, the daughter of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and resident in Singapore, had “insulted” the chief minister for the role of dynastic politics. Nikhil Anand, a BJP politician in Bihar, said that Acharya had disparaged Kumar.

Anand stated, “These are like an arrow released from the bow,” while sharing a screenshot of the allegedly removed articles. The BJP leader said that Acharya need to publicly apologize and show sorrow for using derogatory terms like “badtameez” (ill-mannered) against the chief minister in the article.

Some in the media said that Acharya had responded to Kumar’s criticism of dynasty politics at a JD(U) gathering honoring the socialist hero and former chief minister of Bihar, Karpoori Thakur, on his birth anniversary on Wednesday. Earlier last week, Thakur received the Bharat Ratna posthumously.

Nitish Kumar is said to have also chosen not to participate in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which will visit Bihar on January 29 and is headed by Rahul Gandhi.

According to reports, Nitish Kumar also supports holding an early assembly election in conjunction with the Lok Sabha polls; however, the RJD has not responded well to this proposal. In response to suggestions from some JD(U) leaders that the chief minister’s confidant may have become too close to the RJD or was pursuing an independent agenda, Nitish Kumar decided to assume the role of JD(U) president in December of last year by terminating Lalan Singh’s term. This move was reported by news agency PTI.