Decode Politics: Why for BJP, LS polls to INDIA, getting Nitish a win-win

In August 2022, when Nitish Kumar led the JD(U) out of the NDA for the second time, and joined hands with the RJD to form an alternative government, the BJP had termed it “good riddance”.

But privately, party leaders admitted that the exit of the JD(U) could hurt the BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha calculations in the politically crucial and key Hindi heartland state of Bihar.

On Thursday, amid feverish talk of the Bihar Chief Minister opening channels with top BJP leaders, at least three state BJP leaders told The Indian Express that if the JD(U) returns to the NDA, it would not just be a morale booster for the BJP but also practically demolish the INDIA bloc at the national level.

A party leader said Nitish’s entry would be just the kind of push the BJP needs in Bihar, to turn the spring in its step after recent Assembly wins and the January 22 consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, into sure-shot victory.

Sources in the BJP also confirmed that talks between the two sides had been on for the last few days. “But the condition from the BJP state unit was that Nitish should not insist on continuing as CM. However, our top leadership is conscious of what it is doing,” a senior leader from the Bihar BJP said.

Another party leader from the state said that Nitish is in direct touch with the top leadership, and that the state unit does not have much of a say. “However, it is more or less clear that Nitish Kumar is keen on returning to the BJP and becoming a part of the NDA again.”

The leader pointed out that Nitish was cognisant of the fact that in 2019, an alliance with the BJP had helped the JD(U) win 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats it contested. “He knows that he can win more seats with the BJP, even if the JD(U) contests fewer