NITISH: NECESSARY EVIL

FOCUS BIHAR POLLS

- Rajdeep Sardesai

Ironically, I first heard that catchy slogan outside the BJP office in 2017 when Nitish Kumar decided to switch sides for the umpteenth time, dump the Yadav first family, rejoin a Narendra Modi-led BJP and stay on as Bihar chief minister.

The return wasn’t driven by any sudden rediscovery of friendship but purely by political convenience. Eight years later, little has changed. ‘The BUP has no special love for Nitish babu—someone who was amongst the first to challenge Modi’s prime ministerial credentials in 2013 -- but they don’t have any option but to stick to him as the NDA’s leadership face. A visibly ageing and unwell Nitish too has little choice but to quietly accept his subordinate role in the Modi-centric Dilli durbar.