Modi boosts grip on power with alliance in scandal-hit India state

Coming down heavily on Nitish Kumar, ex-Bihar Chief Minister and wife of Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi said that Nitish has stabbed his elder brother Lalu in the back.

The grand alliance in Bihar was the only hope for the “secular” brigade of the country to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP’s juggernaut.

Yesterday Mr Kumar had resigned as the Chief Minister last evening citing irreconcilable differences with RJD on corruption charges against Lalu Prasad’s son and former Deputy CM Tejaswi Prasad Yadav.

“Close to midnight, Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi drove up together to the Governor’s house, only about 100 metres away, and staked claim to form government”.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for snapping ties with the “mahagathbandhan” and aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

If there is an insulting defeat to Modi after the 2014 elections, it is the election results in Bihar where he lost to the Opposition’s Mahagatbandhan of RJD, JD (U) and Congress.

Other leaders of the JD (U), BJP, LJP and RLSP would also be inducted into the Cabinet soon.

“We are not accepting the JD-U joining the NDA and our relations with Nitish Kumar have ended”.

Nobody from the RJD or the Congress attended the swearing-in ceremony protesting over the “denial of chance” to the RJD, the single-largest party in the state assembly, to form government.

But why would the arrogant Congress, even in its most comatose phase, support a regional leader to become the opposition’s mascot against Modi?

Kumar’s grand alliance was seen by some leaders of India’s political opposition as a possible template to challenge Modi at the 2019 national vote.

He appealed to all JD (U) MPs to denounce the decision and quit the party.

“Nityanand Rai ji and I called Nitish ji”. We are taking legal advice and will move court after that.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that Kumar had pledged never to join hands with the BJP and alleged that his mask of “big talks and self professed honesty” stands exposed, with his sole principle being “power at any cost, power at all costs”. But in the last 20 months something went wrong.

This could be a flawless case of opportunism by Nitish Kumar or maybe his conscience did not allow him to form the government and so he made a decision to part ways, whatever be the case, the break-up of the “Mahagatbandhan” for sure is a body blow for the anti-BJP alliance for the General Elections in 2019. “The mandate was against BJP, to throw Modi out of Bihar”, Yadav told reporters after appearing in a court in a long-running corruption trial.