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Why does Nitish Kumar need Congress more than RJD?

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Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
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Sonia Gandhi and Nitish Kumar (File photo)

New Delhi: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar might have denied nursing Prime Ministerial ambitions but then politics is the art of the possible, according to German statesman Otto von Bismarck.

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After having snapped his 17-year-old ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2013, Kumar had vowed that he would never ever go back and revive his alliance with the saffron party.

Four years later in 2017, Kumar had no qualms about once again joining hands with the BJP after he decided to dump the 'mahagathbandhan' or grand alliance, also comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress apart from his Janata Dal (United).

This time again, he promised to have no truck with the RJD, a party led by his arch-rival in Bihar politics Lalu Prasad. The two socialist leaders - Kumar and Prasad - were once together in the erstwhile Janata Dal.

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Cut to 2022, Kumar is back with the RJD and going all guns blazing against the BJP for allegedly trying to split his party like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

Such frequent switches have earned him the sobriquet of 'Paltu Ram' (turncoat) of Bihar politics.

So, when Kumar insists that the Prime Minister's post is not on his mind, it doesn't mean that he will never ever consider it.

The remark that he will try to unite all the opposition parties is a clear indication of his future role in national politics.

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Take his party's national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh who said that Kumar has all the qualifications of becoming the Prime Minister.

Similarly, RJD leader and Bihar's deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav maintained that if Narendra Modi can become the Prime Minister so can Kumar.

So, if Kumar is looking at a national role in 2024, who would he need to fulfill his goal?

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Senior Congress leader and AICC (All India Congress Committee) member from Bihar Mohammad Shamim Akhtar insisted that Kumar needs Congress more than the RJD.

"Obviously, the Congress has a pan-India presence while the RJD is mainly limited to Bihar only. Going with the RJD is a strategic option but having a long-term alliance with the Congress is a political option for him," explained Akhtar.

He is right. Kumar can be projected as the prime ministerial candidate only if Congress is willing to do so.

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Given that Rahul Gandhi is still reluctant to take over as the Congress president with the organisational elections in the grand old party fast approaching, it is unlikely that he would like to be projected as the opposition's prime ministerial pick. He would rather happily leave it for Kumar provided the JD(U) leader sticks to the present arrangement till 2024, Congress insiders claimed.

But there are some like senior Congress leader and another AICC member from Bihar Kishore Kumar Jha who want Gandhi to take up the challenge and not concede the position to any other opposition party.

"Rahul Gandhi must take the bull by its horn. He cannot shy away from it. Congress has the main responsibility of ousting Modi and the BJP from power. Why should he leave the post for someone else?" he asks.

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But Jha also wants Gandhi to strengthen the Congress in states, especially in North India, where it has been relegated to the political margins.

He demanded that Congress should not join the 'mahagathbandhan' government in Bihar and support it from outside and focus on strengthening the party in Bihar that sends 40 lawmakers to the Lok Sabha. Bihar is among the big states that send a large chunk of lawmakers to the 543-member Lok Sabha.

While Uttar Pradesh sends the highest 80, Maharashtra is second with 48 followed by West Bengal with 42. Then comes Bihar followed by Tamil Nadu with 39.

Going by the calculations at the national level, both Akhtar and Jha are right that it is important for Kumar to cosy up to Congress more than the RJD to realise his dream of becoming the Prime Minister. But that would be possible only if he decides to stay put.

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