Patna (Bihar): Bihar CM and a potential PM face for the INDIA alliance, Nitish Kumar seems to be in no mood to toe the Congress line on the seat-sharing front. Despite the Grand Old Party initiating talks on coming to a unanimity over seat sharing, Nitish is not on the same page as the former.
While the JD (U) is set to field 17 in the 40 Lok Sabha seats in contention, it has also announced the name of a candidate in Arunachal Pradesh much to the chagrin of the Congress, also a partner in the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.
Political pundits are of the view that Nitish wants to chart his own course contrary to the Congress formula. In fact, he wants to have the upper hand. That is perhaps the reason why he named a candidate in Arunachal Pradesh.
Not only that, JD (U) is also closing in on seats even before a final agreement has been made. Congress however shows patience adding that Nitish is held in highest esteem. Probably, the party sees no reason stymying the INDIA alliance move towards usurping the BJP dispensation at the Centre. Nitish to them is an important cog in the wheel.
Senior Congress leader and MLC Sameer Kumar Singh said, "Nitish Kumar is one of the tallest leaders of the INDIA alliance. Everyone respects him. He is being given more respect than the coordinator. But everyone's aim is to defeat BJP. So, it is important to be adjusting both with JD (U) and RJD."
Though Nitish hasn't spelt out his line of thought, senior JD (U) leaders have given enough indications that no way can they be coerced into sacrificing seats. JD (U) national spokesperson KC Tyagi has been categorical on the party fighting in 17 seats in Bihar.
State minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary added, "In 2019 we had contested in 17 seats, won on 16 and came second on one, hence we are not talking unnecessarily." Water Resources Minister Sanjay Jha elaborated, "Nitish Kumar wanted seat sharing to be finalised in October itself and the campaign should have started from Rajghat on October 2, but there has so much of delay over it."
On Arunachal Pradesh, he said the party had a support base and that is why a candidate was fielded. Nitish's decision to announce a JD (U) candidate in Tangug in Arunachal Pradesh can be interpreted as a rebuff to Congress which came second in the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Former JD (U) chief Lalan Singh has been instructed to focus on North East.
To be precise, Nitish was not in consonance with the Congress even during the Assembly polls in five states. The Congress stance to go alone was not acceptable to Nitish. In fact, so peeved is Nitish that he is keen on dealing with RJD and not Congress on seat sharing.
Nitish has also announced that he will contest from Sitamarhi seat in Bihar. Political expert Ravi Upadhyay says that Nitish Kumar is not following any formula. "They want to get their formula implemented. Unless you sit together and talk in the alliance, seat sharing cannot fructify. But Nitish Kumar has his own stand."
Given the current scenario, the INDIA alliance seems to be on a sticky wicket with differences between the Congress and JD (U) in Bihar. With no sagacity in sight, it remains to be seen how the stalemate is done away with.
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