When Nitish became JDU president for the first time, he left Lalu the next year and went to NDA, Is this time a coincidence or an experiment?

In 2016, Nitish Kumar took the command of JDU in his hands for the first time. At that time also he was in power with Lalu Yadav’s RJD. The next year, in  2017, he left the alliance and went to the NDA.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has once again taken the command of his party JDU in his hands. Lalan Singh resigned as the national president of JDU on Friday. This development in JDU before the Lok Sabha elections has started a round of speculation. This is not the first time that Nitish Kumar has become the national president of JDU. Earlier in  2016, he took over the command of the party by removing Sharad Yadav. A year later, in  2017, he left Lalu Yadav’s RJD and joined the NDA. After this, the BJP and JDU government was formed in Bihar.

Now CM Kumar has again become the President of JDU. In such a situation, a round of discussions has started in the political corridors that in the coming year i.e. 2024, there will be some political change in Bihar?   Speculation has started on whether Kumar will remain with RJD or return to NDA again with BJP. However, JDU has made it clear that it has no plans to go with BJP. BJP has also made it clear that their doors are closed for Nitish.

CM Kumar had earlier become the national president of JDU on April 10,  2016. Earlier, the command of the party was in the hands of Sharad Yadav. Since the formation of JDU, he has held this post for a long time. But in  2016, Nitish removed him and took the command of the party in his hands. At that time there was a Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar and Nitish was holding the post of Chief Minister with the help of RJD.

Nitish Kumar left the Grand Alliance on July 26,  2017, a year after becoming JDU president. He again joined hands with the BJP and the NDA government was formed in the state. After this, Nitish Kumar handed over the command of the party to his close RCP Singh. Due to RCP’s proximity to BJP, he was removed and Lalan Singh was made the president of JDU in  2021.

Now Kumar himself has become the national president of JDU by removing Lalan Singh.  There is a Lok Sabha election in the coming year i.e.  2024. A year later, Bihar assembly elections are also going to be held. Before these two elections, many meanings of Nitish’s move are being extracted. It is discussed that Lalan Singh failed to fulfill Nitish Kumar’s national ambitions while being JDU president. That’s why Nitish was removed from him.

After this incident in JDU, the speculation has been fueled, in which Nitish’s displeasure with the leaders of the INDIA coalition is being said. In fact, in the meeting in Delhi on December 19, there was a proposal to make Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge the face of the alliance. After this, there was a discussion that Nitish Kumar was angry with this. On the other hand, JDU workers are demanding Nitish Kumar to be made the opposition PM candidate.

Another reason for Nitish Kumar’s displeasure with Lalan Singh is also believed to be close to RJD. According to sources, Lalan Singh’s proximity to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and Deputy CM Tejashwi increased. Nitish Kumar looked unhappy with this. That is why Lalan was removed from the post. Earlier, RCP Singh was also removed in a similar manner. RCP Singh had grown close to the BJP while being JDU president. He also became a minister in the Narendra Modi government. After this, Nitish removed him and handed over the command of the party to Lalan Singh.

From where Nitish Kumar is now,  all round political possibilities are open for him. His next move is being monitored by the ally RJD as well as the opposition party BJP. There are only a few months left in the Lok Sabha elections, before that many meanings are being drawn from the developments in JDU.

Political experts believe that after becoming JDU president, Kumar’s importance in the  INDIA coalition will increase. They will be able to strongly present their party’s case in front of other coalition parties. Apart from this, even if they leave the  INDIA alliance and go with the BJP, they will not be harmed. However, it is too early to speculate about what Nitish’s next move will be.

After removing Lalan Singh and taking over the command of JDU, Kumar has weakened the pressure politics of RJD. Ever since the Grand Alliance government was formed in Bihar last year,  there has been pressure from RJD to make Tejashwi Yadav the CM. However, CM Kumar has maintained his dominance by staying one step ahead every time. Now taking the command of the party in his own hands, the CM also ended the possibility of merger of JDU with RJD. In the coming days, the tug of war between RJD and JDU may increase to make Tejashwi Yadav the Chief Minister of Bihar. How CM Kumar deals with it remains to be seen.