IN the run-up to the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections, when Nitish Kumar was fighting without his traditional ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented that the party made a big sacrifice by making Kumar the CM in 2005. Soon after, senior JD (U) leaders jumped in to defend their leader and said it was Kumar’s popularity that forced the BJP to elect him.
Modi’s jibe at Kumar did not come out of nowhere. He was the only NDA member who, in 2013, strongly opposed Modi’s projection as the prime ministerial candidate. He also made this the ground to end 17 years of their political relationship and paved the way for a new coalition—the Mahagathbandhan.
But the bitterness did not last long. In 2017, Kumar quit the Mahagathbandhan and re-joined the NDA. However, in 2022, he again quit the NDA and re-joined the Mahagathbandhan, only to be back in 2024, just before the Lok Sabha elections, probably sensing which way the political winds are blowing. Some may question his flip-flops, but one thing is evident—he will always have his way.
Esta historia es de la edición February 11, 2024 de Outlook.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 11, 2024 de Outlook.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Trump's White House 'Waapsi'
Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election may very well mean an end to democracy in the near future
IMT Ghaziabad hosted its Annual Convocation Ceremony for the Class of 2024
Shri Suresh Narayanan, Chairman Managing Director of Nestlé India Limited, congratulated and motivated graduates at IMT Ghaziabad's Convocation 2024
Identity and 'Infiltrators'
The Jharkhand Assembly election has emerged as a high-stakes political contest, with the battle for power intensifying between key players in the state.
Beyond Deadlines
Bibek Debroy could engage with even those who were not aligned with his politics or economics
Portraying Absence
Exhibits at a group art show in Kolkata examine existence in the absence
Of Rivers, Jungles and Mountains
In Adivasi poetry, everything breathes, everything is alive and nothing is inferior to humans
Hemant Versus Himanta
Himanta Biswa Sarma brings his hate bandwagon to Jharkhand to rattle Hemant Soren’s tribal identity politics
A Smouldering Wasteland
As Jharkhand goes to the polls, people living in and around Jharia coalfield have just one request for the administration—a life free from smoke, fear and danger for their children
Search for a Narrative
By demanding a separate Sarna Code for the tribals, Hemant Soren has offered the larger issue of tribal identity before the voters
The Historic Bonhomie
While the BJP Is trying to invoke the trope of Bangladeshi infiltrators”, the ground reality paints a different picture pertaining to the historical significance of Muslim-Adivasi camaraderie
