The breaking of grand alliance in Bihar has dealt a severe blow to Congress`s attempts to forge a broader unity among Opposition parties ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha election. Mr Kumar has drifted apart from grand alliance at a time when Congress is trying hard to forge a broader unity among Opposition parties at the national level before the election.
The Congress has played a crucial role in the formation of grand alliance in Bihar ahead of the last state Assembly election to halt BJP’s juggernaut. After the landslide victory of grand alliance in the state, Congress had pinned its hopes on formation of a Bihar-type grand alliance at the national level ahead of the next Lok Sabha election.
But on the contrary, Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) president Nitish Kumar accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s leadership when he was perceived as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate of Opposition parties in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The Congress had exercised much restraint even when Mr Kumar caused embarrassment to the party by extending his support to Narendra Modi government`s demonetisation move and surgical strike in PoK and more recently to NDA candidate in the presidential election Ram Nath Kovind. The Congress`s patience was understandable as it wanted to keep the grand alliance in Bihar afloat at any cost.
Mr Kumar`s clean image was also working immensely in accordance with Congress`s plan. Several other regional satraps have yet to match his stature for various reasons. His uncompromising approach towards corruption and his special focus on the rule of law were certain factors which had tilted the balance in his favour.
Congress, which is already passing through a difficult phase due to BJP`s winning streak is heavily dependent on regional parties for challenging BJP in the election. But it all went wrong for the grand old party.
For Congress, the breaking of the grand alliance not only forced its ouster from power in Bihar but also a major setback to its plan to revive its fortunes in the state.
The Congress was trying hard to strengthen its organizational base in the state after returning to power but the party was virtually back to square one now despite its impressive victory in the last state Assembly election.
A political analyst said that with the exit of Mr Kumar from the Opposition camp, Congress has to re-strategise its plan for stitching an alliance of secular parties to counter BJP.
Though RJD Chief Lalu Prasad could play a pivotal role in forming an alliance of secular parties at the national level, it is unsure whether he would be able to do much for it. His regular appearance before the court in cases related to the multi-crore fodder scam, is consuming much of his time and energy. He also runs the risk of being jailed again in the event of his conviction in yet another case of the fodder scam.
Mr Prasad created a flutter in the past by saying that there was a strong possibility of Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati coming together but it has yet to be seen how he himself would wriggle out from the current situation when he and his family members including former Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav are facing corruption cases of all hues.
RJD`s sponsored anti-BJP rally in Patna on August 27 would perhaps provide the first hint about the readiness of Opposition parties to come on a single platform and challenge the might of BJP with a renewed zeal collectively.
It would be also interesting to see leaders of how many Opposition parties would attend the rally.
(The writer is Patna-based senior journalist)