Is Nitish now receptive to UPA?
The Congress’ recent attempts to bring the JD(U) under the UPA umbrella appears to be resonating well with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who on Wednesday chose to ignore his BJP deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, state finance minister, while meeting Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia informally ahead of formal discussions on the state plan size.
It is learnt that Mr Kumar along with party colleague N.K. Singh, who is considered to be the “back channel” link between the JD(U) and the Congress, met Mr Ahluwalia when they discussed the overall political scenario in the country.
“The state leaders, including three ministers, besides Mr Kumar and all Planning commission members first came to the deputy chairman’s chamber ahead of the formal meeting. After a few initial pleasantries, except for Mr Kumar and Mr Ahluwalia, all were requested to go to the committee room for the meeting. Then within seconds, N.K. Singh entered the chamber to join the two leaders,” sources revealed.
“Once the three of them were settled in, they discussed the overall political scenario in the country, including the UPA’s prospects in the next general election. The meeting lasted about 20 minutes, while the rest of the participants, including Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, waited in the committee room for Mr Ahluwalia and Mr Kumar,” the sources said, adding that as the two leaders proceeded to the committee room, Mr Singh left the Yojna Bhavan.
Interestingly, it is learnt that the “economy of the state or even special category status, which Mr Kumar is harping on”, was not the focus of the deliberations. Instead, they discussed the possible combinations that could emerge after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, sources said.
With such a move to avoid his deputy, a senior state BJP leader, in order to discuss politics, Mr Kumar appears to have given a positive signal to the Congress leadership for the first time. The Congress has been trying for long to replace the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD with the JD(U) in the UPA bandwagon. If somehow the Congress succeeds in its mission to woo Mr Kumar’s party into the UPA fold, it will be a double benefit: first, as it gets a key friend and enhance its appeal; and second, by demolishing the BJP’s chances of winning over other secular parties to the NDA fold. It is generally believed that the presence of Mr Kumar’s party in the NDA gives legitimacy to other secular parties to have tieups with the BJP.
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