A section of the media has interpreted the former Union minister Ashwini Choubey’s demand that the Bharatiya Janata Party lead the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar and that assembly elections be contested under the stewardship of Narendra Modi as a manifestation of “rift” between the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP.
However, this is not the case. Instead, Choubey, who was denied the BJP ticket from Buxar – a seat the Rashtriya Janata Dal wrested from his party – has exacerbated the internal dissent within the BJP against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.
After the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat questioned the style of functioning of the sevak, purportedly in reference to Modi, Choubey – a Brahmin leader from Bhagalpur known for his anti-minority rhetoric – appears to have joined a group populated by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath, and Union ministers Shivaraj Singh Chouhan and Nitin Gadkari, who are believed to be locked in a cold war against Modi and Shah.
Choubey began his political career in the background of the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, shortly before the then party boss L.K. Advani embarked on the rath yatra that culminated in the destruction of Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid in 1992. He won the Bhagalpur assembly seat multiple times, becoming a minister in the Nitish Kumar led JD(U)-BJP government in the state from 2005 onwards.
Nitish was understood to be perennially uncomfortable with Choubey as his cabinet colleague, over the latter’s anti-minority speeches. A sobering influence on Choubey was understood to be the late Sushil Modi, who was deputy chief minister with Nitish and a leader of the A.B. Vajpayee-L.K. Advani era.
Choubey’s stock rose after Modi took over as the PM in 2014 and further as Amit Shah took over as the saffron party’s president. The Modi-Shah duo shifted Choubey from Bhagalpur to Buxar by axing a party veteran from Vajpayee-Advani era, Lalmuni Choubey. Aswhini Choubey was elected from Buxar in 2019 and subsequently joined Modi’s council of ministers.
This time, however, the BJP gave the ticket to Mithilesh Tiwari, dropping Choubey. Tiwary lost to the RJD’s Sudhakar Singh. Choubey is now believed to be seething in anger against Modi and Shah.
Damage Control
Soon after Choubey said on Thursday, June 27, that the BJP should form its government keeping the JD(U) as its ally, contest the 2025 assembly polls and earn the majority on its own, there erupted a crisis in the state BJP ranks. Even before the JD(U) leadership reacted, the BJP’s state in-charge Vinod Tavade left a review meeting of his party midway and rushed to Nitish, ostensibly to control the damage.
Simultaneously, the deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary clarified, “Nitish Kumar has been the leader of NDA in Bihar since 1996. We contested all the elections under the stewardship of Nitish ji in the state and we will do so in future too.”
Choudhary added, “Choubey might have spoken in a personal capacity which has nothing to do with the official line of the party.”
Also read: Naidu and Nitish, Shadows of Their Past, Won’t Do Anything Radical to Upset the BJP
Nitish, temperamentally
Nitish, for the past two years or so, is not the same as what he used to be in terms of his political presence. The man known for holding crowded janata darbars, meeting people warmly, reviewing government work methodically and responding to the media with precision and diligence, now largely prefers silence.
The optics of Nitish bowing to the Prime Minister at the NDA’s meet before the swearing in or behaving awkwardly on other occasions, fueled the perception that the CM had acquiesced to Modi. Moreover, Nitish’s silence at Modi not sharing key portfolios with the JD(U) MPs or retaining the same speaker is also being interpreted as the success of Modi’s design to elbow out his allies.
This may not be wholly true in Nitish’s context. The JD(U)’s grapevine has it that Modi is cognisant of Nitish’s worth. “Had Nitish not left the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and switched over to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP wouldn’t have been able to win even five seats in Bihar. In that case, in no way would Modi have returned as the PM. Modi knows that he is the PM because of the 30 seats that the NDA has won in the state,” said a senior JD(U) strategist, adding, “Modi’s juggernaut fell on its face in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Modi is not foolish enough to antagonise Nitish.”.
Moreover, those who claim to know the mind of Nitish say that the Bihar CM is not bothered about his party MPs not getting plum portfolios or the position of speaker. “Temperamentally, Nitish doesn’t relish any of his party colleagues getting into the limelight more than him. He doesn’t want another power centre in the party and in that sense; it is in keeping with his mindset to have his MPs with low profile ministerial positions at the Centre.”
Nitish’s primary concern is to increase his strength in the Bihar assembly in the coming assembly polls against the resurgent INDIA. Nitish will like to use the BJP’s company to weaken INDIA and strengthen his own party in the state.
Nalin Verma is a senior journalist, author, media educator and independent researcher in folklore.
