EXIT WOUNDS

Nitish Kumar’s return to NDA will cause a serious dent in the INDIA bloc plans to fight the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls

- SONI MISHRA

When Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hosted the first formal meeting of the apex leadership of opposition parties in Patna, the state capital was flooded with posters. One such poster put up near the venue of the meeting— Nitish’s official residence at 1 Anne Marg—declared, “Aagaaz Hua Hai, Badlav Hoga (A beginning has been made. It will usher in change).” The message was that the anti-BJP bloc would be an agent of change in the Lok Sabha elections.

Several months down the line, Nitish has, in the Congress’s description of his sensational U-turn, changed his colours yet again. At the June 2023 meet, Nitish was the anchor of the group of disparate parties. It is learnt that ever since he had broken away from the National Democratic Alliance in August 2022, he had been waiting to hear from the Congress leadership about going ahead with his plan of reaching out to other opposition parties, including the Congress’s rival parties. In April 2023, the process finally began, and Nitish travelled across the country to bring regional leaders on board to stage a joint fight against the BJP. He also put on the table the Nitish formula for 2024, which was to ensure that only one opposition candidate was fielded against the BJP in as many seats as possible.

Months later, it is this role that he had donned that makes his return to the NDA fold all the more astonishing and deals a big blow to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance ahead of the general elections.