Chacha, CM?

How a weakened Opposition in Bihar softens Nitish's grip despite a doubled tally, just four short of the BJP

- Md Asghar Khan IS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT FROM JHARKHAND

A ROUND 4 pm on November 14, as the BJP comes close to bagging 90 seats and the alliance it leads, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), surges past the 200-seat mark in the 243-seat Bihar Assembly, the mood among workers at the party's Patna office is upbeat.

“Soon we'll have a BJP chief minister,” some say. “No, Nitish (Kumar) ‘chacha’ will remain CM. Else, the whole game will collapse,” retorts Mahesh Das, a staunch BJP supporter from Bihta town 55 km away, as he walks out of the room.

“At 50, I have seen enough political ups and downs. And understanding Nitish in Bihar isn’t everyone’s cup of tea,” Das says. “If the BJP tries to install its own CM, everything will fall apart. ‘Chacha-bhatija’ (Nitish and Tejashwi Yadav) will join hands and form the government. Nitish ji is an engineer by degree and by temperament. This mandate is for his development model.”

Das does not believe the chatter around Nitish’s declining health. “He is mentally sharp and resilient,” he says. Those who have worked closely with Nitish often say he would stay with the BJP, but only on his own terms. Some argue Nitish has stood like a wall for nearly 25 years between the BJP and its ambition to build a strong Hindutva-oriented backward-caste leadership in Bihar. He ensured the BJP remained dependent on his party, the Janata Dal (United). When the late Sushil Modi was deputy chief minister in Nitish’s government, many believed he was more loyal to Nitish than to his party, the BJP.