Parties grapple with shifting allegiances

AN ANALYST SAID THE INTERNAL TURMOIL IS PART OF A BROADER GENERATIONAL TRANSITION IN BIHAR POLITICS

- Sanjeev K Jha

The Bihar assembly elections are following a pattern seen in recent assembly elections, especially those involving parties that have been in power for long, or alliances: proteges turning against mentors, and loyalists squabbling with each other, all for a shot at political relevance.

Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), even the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are all seeing this. Some attribute the phenomenon to the usual jockeying for tickets ahead of November’s assembly election.

The JD(U) has been part of the ruling dispensation (both with the BJP and the RJD-Congress at different times) for 20 years, which means the current NDA alliance is the default long-term incumbent, and parties have discovered that the easiest way to tackle anti incumbency is to change candidates. With two alliances facing off — the Jan Suraaj is a startup and will have to pull off a miracle to win enough seats to make a difference, people say — parties are having to accommodate partners. The result: people turning on their own.