Why Nitish said no: wants a consensus, more weighty role

FOR the past fortnight, Janata Dal (United) leaders had been pushing for Bihar Chief Minister and party supremo Nitish Kumar to be made national convener of the INDIA bloc. Yet, when the offer came, from the Congress Saturday, Nitish’s no wasn’t much of a surprise.

There are four key reasons behind his decision:

Aggressive position from both sides

Despite a clear hint from the Congress, when it didn’t announce Nitish as convener last week, the JD(U)’s leadership, sources said, was in a spot. Injury got added to this insult when Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, asked about Nitish’s position, was sharp in his response – he asked if this was a “KBC (gameshow) question”. JD(U) chief spokespersonKC Tyagi led the JD(U) charge by asking the Congress to “show some urgency” in taking major decisions. Tyagi’s aggressive posturing reportedly did not go down well with Congress, especially the JD(U) asking for an INDIA yatra, rather than Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. So when the Congress has finally made the offer, JD(U) leaders sensed it lacked conviction.

Consensus hope

Nitish Kumar, sources said, always pushed for a consensus regarding his role in the coalition. ”  He had reservations about West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee meeting Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal before the last meeting of the INDIA bloc in Delhi. And when Banerjee proposed the name of Kharge for leading the Opposition, it further upset him.” This is why he asked for a consensus at Saturday’s virtual meeting on the issue of a post for him. He also suggested a panel of CMs in the INDIA bloc.

Nitish the nimble politician

Adept at political posturing, Nitish Kumar will continue to keep the Congress guessing. Until now, he has declined to echo the Congress’s line of