“Hum gayab ho gaye thhe, par ab hum phir aapke saath hain. Hum aapko ashwast karte hain, ab hum idhar-udhar hone wale nahin hain, rahenge aapke saath (We had disappeared for a while, but now we are back with you. And I want to assure you, this time we’re staying put),” he said as both of them enjoyed a laugh.
Nitish’s U-turns are by now part of folklore, so a spot of self-deprecatory humour was just what the occasion needed, especially since there was a goodish chance that some old ice lingered that needed to thaw. The two leaders performed the rites of reunion perfectly: when BJP leaders welcomed Modi with a huge garland, he held out a hand to bring Nitish, too, under it.
The surface camaraderie aside, a touch of mutual wariness is not too hard to spot in the subsoil. Not a single seat in Bihar was announced in the first list of 195 candidates the BJP released the same day. With Nitish back in the fold, seat-sharing for the 40 Lok Sabha seats from the state will be by no means an easy task. Other than the JD(U), the NDA in Bihar includes smaller caste-based parties, which, too, will demand their pound of flesh. And each of them is enmeshed in a history of friction.
THE BJP MAY HAVE ALLOWED NITISH TO LEAD THE NDA IN BIHAR FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION, BUT ALL BETS ARE OFF AFTER THAT
This story is from the March 18, 2024 edition of India Today.
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This story is from the March 18, 2024 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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