By Nishindra Kinjalk
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appears to be in no mood to compromise. Within 24 hours, his trusted inner circle has moved into what insiders describe as “combat mode,” following revelations that Union Minister Lalan Singh and JD(U) Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha had quietly negotiated with NDA allies to settle for just 101 seats — far below what Nitish had demanded.
The move, reportedly approved by Amit Shah, equated JD(U)’s seat count with that of the BJP, while ceding traditional JD(U) strongholds like Nalanda, Gayaghat (Muzaffarpur), Mahnar (Vaishali), and Sonbarsa to allies such as the LJP. Nitish, sources say, saw this as a deliberate slight — a déjà vu of the 2020 Chirag Paswan episode, when rebel candidates undermined JD(U) nominees in several constituencies.
According to senior officials, Nitish has ignored multiple calls from Amit Shah, who is expected to make an emergency trip to Patna to defuse the crisis. “The message from 1, Anne Marg is clear: either announce Nitish as the NDA’s undisputed CM face, or risk the alliance collapsing,” a senior JD(U) insider told Smart Governance.
The stakes could not be higher. Should Nitish walk out, several MPs may follow, potentially reducing the Modi government to a minority in Parliament. The developments have already drawn the attention of Rahul Gandhi and Lalu Prasad Yadav, both of whom have reached out to Nitish through intermediaries.
Political observers believe a return of Nitish to the Grand Alliance (RJD-Congress-JD(U)) would all but seal the Bihar Assembly outcome in their favor. “If Nitish crosses over, the NDA’s game in Bihar is over before counting begins,” said a Patna-based political analyst.
Meanwhile, discontent brews within the BJP itself. Senior leader Nand Kishor Yadav, a seven-time MLA and former assembly speaker, has been denied a ticket. In Muzaffarpur, Ram Surat Rai, who won by a record margin in 2020, has been dropped in favor of Rama Nishad, wife of ex-BJP MP Ajay Nishad, sparking protests at the party’s state office.
Adding to the turmoil, Health Minister Mangal Pandey faces his first direct electoral test in Siwan, while Ram Kripal Yadav, a former Union Minister, is contesting from Danapur, a constituency long promised to LJP aspirants.
Elsewhere, Mukesh Sahni of the VIP party has been forced to scale back his ambitions — accepting just 18 seats under a deal dominated by RJD conditions.
With only one day left for nominations, Bihar’s political stage is tense, its alliances fragile, and its power equations unpredictable.
As one senior bureaucrat summed it up: “The next 48 hours will decide not just Bihar’s government — but perhaps Narendra Modi’s, too.”
