In a major setback to NDA ahead of next year's Lok Sabha election, JD(U) on Sunday broke its ties with BJP in Bihar in protest against the elevation of Narendra Modi, bringing to an end a 17-year-old alliance that had held firm through thick and thin in the national politics.
Heading the eight-year-old coalition in the state, JD(U), which does not need BJP support to run the government, removed 11 saffron ministers from the state Cabinet and decided to seek a vote of confidence on June 19 in view of the "new situation".
Sunday's development is a major jolt to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which is now left with only three constituents -- BJP, Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). JD(U) President Sharad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the break up of the coalition at a press conference, exactly a week after Modi was made the BJP's campaign committee chairman, considered just a step short of being made the prime ministerial candidate. Yadav also quit as Convenor of the NDA.
"We cannot compromise with our basic principles. We are not worried about the consequences. As long as the alliance was Bihar-centric, there was no problem. But we had no alternative now. We are not responsible. We were forced to take this decision.
"The BJP is going through a new phase. As long as there was no external interference in the Bihar alliance, it ran smoothly. Problems began whenever there was external interference," Kumar said without taking the name of Modi even once in the half-an-hour press conference but made several barbs aimed at him.
Though JD(U)'s decision comes a week after Modi's elevation in Goa, the party's National Council had a few months ago set a deadline of December asking BJP to name its PM candidate. The party has made its aversion to Modi explicitly clear on a number of occasions. Kumar had three years ago cancelled a dinner with senior BJP leaders including L K Advani because of Modi's presence.
Nitish also threatened legal action against the agency that had released the controversial advertisements. A week after he cancelled the dinner, Nitish returned Rs. Five crore donated by Gujarat government for Kosi flood relief in 2008.
A few months earlier, Nitish and Modi attended a Akali Dal function in Punjab where the two chief ministers raised their hands clasped in a victory sign. Media flashes of the picture were believed to have come as an embarrassment for Nitish.
The BJP s central leadership had since undertaken a systematic media exercise to control the damage to its alliance with the JD (U). In June 2012, Nitish asked alliance partner BJP to name a prime ministerial candidate with secular credentials before the 2014 elections triggering widespread protests from the BJP leaders.
In November 2012, Bihar BJP patriarch K P Mishra died after which Modi made an unscheduled surprise airdash to Patna, even as Nitish was holding a rally at Gandhi Maidan for the special status to Bihar. He left without meeting any JD(U) leaders but creating a huge media splash as a distraction.
Another sour note in BJP-JD(U) ties was struck when except for JD(U), all NDA chief ministers attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi on December 26, 2012 following his third consecutive win in Gujarat. In April 2013, JD(U) at its national executive meeting, opposed Modi's projection as Prime Ministerial candidate citing his failure to check the post-Godhra riots.
Nitish sets December deadline for the BJP to decide on a secular prime ministerial candidate by December-end adding the leaders in such positions have to sometimes wear a "topi" or sport a "tika".
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