Narendra Modi’s prime-ministerial candidature hurt Nitish Kumar the most: whether he breaks the alliance with the BJP over it or remains an NDA partner. 26 April 2013, Outlookindia.com
The acrimonious spat between the JD(U) and the BJP over Narendra Modi’s candidature for prime-ministership is just a symptom of a far deeper political crisis that the JD(U) is facing. Being a seasoned politician, Nitish Kumar is well aware of the fact that amongst all the major political parties in Bihar, the JD(U) stands to lose the most in either case, that is, if it breaks the alliance with the BJP over the Narendra Modi issue or continues to remain an NDA partner with Modi as a PM candidate. Nitish knows very well that the only way he can retain the 20 seats his JD(U) got in Bihar in the last Lok Sabha election is by ensuring that the JD(U)-BJP alliance remains intact and someone like Lal Krishna Advani or Sushma Sawarj is declared the NDA’s PM candidate. His anti-Modi posturing and the December deadline that he has given the BJP to declare the PM candidate is a desperate tactical move to galvanise the other NDA partners to veto Modi’s candidature. Nitish is also trying to force the BJP to take a step back and realize that with Modi at its helm, it will lose an alliance partner in the JD(U), which could otherwise be the second biggest contributor to the NDA kitty in terms of seats when the next Lok Sabha results are declared. More
Jamal Kidwai 