Are Lalu Yadav and Narendra Modi playing a fixed match in Bihar?
Both have a common enemy in Nitish Kumar, and then there’s the CBI
For some time now, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar has been focusing on Nitish Kumar, making him the centrepiece of its attacks. Issues pertaining to the Modi government and fighting communalism find obligatory references, but the RJD has not named Narendra Modi or Amit Shah much.
In a passionate speech at the RJD’s foundation day in Patna last week, Tejashwi Yadav lashed out at Nitish. He said Nitish was trying to spread the idea that the RJD needs him to defeat the BJP. Tejashwi refuted the idea, asserting that the RJD has no need of Nitish. He instead suggested that Nitish should take retirement.
The RJD wants Bihar politics to be a bi-polar contest between itself and the BJP. It wants to make Nitish irrelevant.
Happily for the RJD, the BJP has the same agenda. It has been clear for a while that the BJP is not interested in keeping the JD(U) in good humour. It is not interested in giving the JD(U) any more than nine or 10 seats as part of the NDA alliance in Bihar. The state has 40 seats.
Enemy’s enemy is friend
Since Nitish switched sides and allied with the BJP, Bihar has reportedly seen a rise in incidents of communal tension. Recently, union minister Giriraj Singh went and met families of the Bajrang Dal workers arrested for their alleged role in communal clashes.
A weak Nitish can do nothing about this, except issuing obligatory condemnation. The result is that Bihar’s nearly 17 per cent Muslims can no longer depend on Nitish for their safety from Hindutva aggression.
Between the BJP’s communalism and the RJD’s secularism, who needs Nitish? The more the BJP plays the polarisation number in Bihar, the more Muslims will vote for the RJD. The JD(U) will be neither here nor there.
The impact was clear in the Jokihat assembly bypoll in May. The Muslim-dominated JD(U) stronghold was won by the RJD.
It appears that the BJP would be very happy if Nitish walked out of the NDA and did not find acceptance with the RJD or the Congress. That is the ideal situation for the BJP as it would split the anti-Modi votes, just like 2014. In that Lok Sabha election, the BJP and its allies had together won 31 of the state’s 40 seats.
The RJD would like us to think that Nitish is irrelevant, but that is not the case. “Our worst phase was 2014. Even then, we had secured 17 per cent votes,” Nitish told his party’s national executive in Delhi Sunday.
Is the RJD making an error of judgement in thinking that Bihar politics is becoming a bi-polar contest between itself and the BJP?
Or is there something else going on here?
Lalu Yadav needs Nitish if he wants to do well in the Lok Sabha elections. On his own he might increase his party’s tally from four to eight seats, but if there were to be a mahagatbandhan, the tally could be as high as 15. Moreover, the mahagatbandhan could be critical in stopping the BJP from coming close to the majority mark in the Lok Sabha.
Lalu would be happy with that, but he has a greater need: protecting himself and his family from the relentless harassment of the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies.
For the last month or so, the agencies have apparently been going slow on the Lalu family. The last bit of news was on 12 June when the ED attached some property linked to the Lalu family.
The corruption charge against Tejashwi over which Nitish broke the alliance is being investigated by the CBI. The case is not making news these days. Then there’s an alleged IRCTC scam in which Lalu and Rabri Devi’s names have come up. Then there are the raids, notices and interrogations of Misa Bharti and her husband that went on for months. Lalu, Rabri, daughter Misa, son Tejashwi – they all face multiple charges in many different cases.
As these cases slow down, the Lalu family’s noises against Nitish seem to have risen proportionately. A few more Lok Sabha seats don’t do anything for the RJD. Managing the relentless investigations is a greater objective for the family driven party. Fixed as the match may be, it will still be interesting.
Courtesy: theprint.in
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Two FIRs lodged against Mithun Chakraborty for 'provocative' speech
Kolkata, Nov 6: Two FIRs have been lodged against actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty for allegedly making provocative statements during a BJP event in Salt Lake area near Kolkata last month, police said on Wednesday.
The complaints pertain to Chakraborty's speech on October 27 at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, during a BJP programme attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Kolkata to launch the party's West Bengal membership drive.
The first FIR was filed at the Bidhannagar South police station based on a complaint by an individual, while the second was lodged at Bowbazar police station.
"We have started an investigation into the case," a senior officer of Bidhannagar police said.
Shah was also present at the programme, which was organised to kick off the West Bengal leg of the BJP's membership drive. Shah had also felicitated Chakraborty for being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year.
Although Chakraborty was unavailable for comment, BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar described the FIRs a result of "vendetta politics.".
Majumdar alleged that the TMC government "has once again used the police to unfairly target well-known actor and senior BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty".
He accused the chief minister of employing such tactics "to serve political interests" and claimed that the state government's actions were part of an ongoing attempt to discredit political opponents.
"There is nothing provocative in his speech. These are nothing but attempts to intimidate him by using police as a political tool," he said.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dubbed the BJP's allegations as baseless.
"The allegations of political vendetta are baseless. He shouldn't have made such provocative remarks. The law will take its own course," he said.
Chakraborty, who received India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, earlier this year, had asserted on October 27 that the 'masnad' (throne) of West Bengal would belong to the BJP after the 2026 assembly elections, promising to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal.
While speaking at the programme, Chakraborty, a BJP leader, said, "In 2026, the 'masnad' will be ours, and we will do everything to achieve the goal."
In an apparent reference to TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's communal remarks aimed at BJP workers during the Lok Sabha elections, Chakraborty had allegedly made provocative remarks.
Chakraborty cautioned that no one should attempt to intimidate saffron party voters into abstaining from voting in the next assembly elections.
He called upon the booth-level workers of his party to resist any such attempts.
