Closet Bhakt Nitish’s support for Kovind a bitter compromise

Having an idea of what it is like when two years ago Nitish Kumar had forced a resignation from Jiten Ram Majhi, not supporting Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit, would have been a disaster for the Janata Dal United (JDU).

Kovind being a Jatav Dalit and the JDU’s base being made up of Dalits, it was impossible for the closet Modi Bhakt to take a stand and behave like a true Opposition. A party insider said that the JDU had to gulp down its reservation against Kovind primarily for this reason. However, there might be some other reasons as well, hinted the source.

In the wake of CBI raids being a regular affair at the doorsteps of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) honchos, including Lalu Prasad Yadav's children, a silent fear factor is playing its role inside Nitish Kumar.

If my numbers are not too wrong then the RJD has 80 seats and the JDU has around 71 seats with BJP standing third at 53. Now, if the BJP can really use its fangs on RJD through the CBI, and topple the alliance, quite obviously Nitish Kumar will have to lose his seat. But if Nitish can stay in the good books of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), then at least his seat will stay intact, albeit in compromise of being a puppet in the hands of the BJP.

While projecting a Dalit as the Presidential candidate may look like just another move, political pundits smell a well orchestrated plan for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and ahead. Just like the JDU’s base is made of Dalits, the BJP’s base too, in a larger scale, is somewhat made of Dalit votes. And UP elections was a good indicator to reflect that, if it was not a manipulated figure.

Having bagged Uttar Pradesh, in an obvious stance, the BJP will look at Bihar, the next big state to create a base in. However, what is disturbing is the way the security and investigating agencies are becoming puppets in the hands of the ruling party. This also shows that the BJP has done a good homework on its Opposition parties and is striking where it hurts the most. Which in turn is a shame for the parties falling victim to the BJP’s tactics because they have things to hide and now, falling in line with the BJP is the only option left for them if at all their love for the gallows is not more than that for the seats they enjoy.