RJD, Congress to scout for new political equations

With Nitish Kumar walking out of the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar, the INDIA bloc is left with the onerous task of working out a new political equation in the state to make up for JDU’s absence ahead of Lok Sabha polls. Sources said the RJD, the senior partner in INDIA bloc in Bihar, is already looking at leaders and smaller parties within and outside NDA that haven’t had very cordial relations with Nitish Kumar in the past.

“They (BJP-JDU) can form the government in Bihar, but 2024 polls are still a couple of months away. Not everyone in the NDA is comfortable with Nitish Kumar. You might see some new political equations taking shape in a month,” an RJD leader said.

At least three parties in Bihar, which have been in and out of both blocs, have had a love-hate relationship with Nitish or the BJP. These are: Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insaan Party.

Currently, the JDU, the BJP and its allies together have 39 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Of these, JDU has 16 and BJP 17. The rest are with the LJP.

Even though Nitish’s political graph has been on the wane—JDU fell to 43 seats in 2020 polls from 71 in the 2015—he continues to command about 10% votes in the state.

This includes the votes of his own caste, the Kurmis, who make up about 3% of Bihar’s population and some support from constituencies such as women, extremely backward castes and Mahadalits that he crafted. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, JDU contested alone and bagged over 15% votes.

The RJD-Congress combine that has a strong base among the Yadav-Muslim vote bank—making up for 31% of Bihar’s electorate—and support among Ravidasi Dalits (about 4%), was hoping to get over the