JD(U) ends 17-year-old marriage with BJP, Bihar CM axes 11 ministers

17 Jun 2013 Evaluate

The BJP-JD(U) alliance ended on Sunday over Narendra Modi's rise in the BJP and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar sacking all BJP ministers in his Cabinet. This makes Kumar to prove his majority in the Bihar assembly on Wednesday and looks set to win the floor test comfortably. The breakup had looked inevitable since early last week when Kumar raised his ante over Modi's appointment as the chairman of BJP's campaign committee, and said that he would stay with the NDA only if the BJP gave a public commitment not to project the Gujarat strongman as its PM candidate. BJP responded to the firing of its ministers by calling for a statewide bandh on Tuesday to protest against a 'betrayal of mandate' and promising to wheel out its heavy artillery in the form of Modi. BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi emphasized the Gujarat leader's credentials as the first backward to have emerged as a realistic contender for the prime minister's job, saying JD(U)'s decision was driven by the fear of certain leaders that Narendra Modi will dent their support base.

JD(U)'s departure shrinks the NDA and, by leaving the BJP with only two allies of political significance in Shiv Sena and Akali Dal, for its bid to return to power in 2014. Within the BJP, it removes the last hurdle in the way of Modi being appointed BJP's PM candidate. Earlier on Saturday night party president Rajnath Singh rejected the suggestion that BJP should heed Kumar's demand for a public commitment not to make Modi its PM candidate. JD (U) blamed the bitter divorce entirely on Modi's personality and his likely projection as BJP's PM candidate. The party which had said that it would never acquiesce to the Gujarat CM being declared BJP's PM candidate, said his appointment as the chairman of the campaign committee and its celebration proved to be the last straw.

In a statement, JD (U) said, 'The Goa announcement of the chairmanship of the electoral campaign committee of the BJP has filled all of us with deep apprehensions about the future. It has left not a shadow of doubt that this a mere ceremonial prelude to his nomination as prime ministerial candidate. All efforts within the BJP to suggest care and moderation in the process were smothered with the authoritarian cult and imperious disdain. ‘Needless to say that these developments do not augur well for the health of our secular and democratic polity.’

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