Bihar: Coordination meet shows Nitish bid to cement his position in NDA

With a little more than a year to go for the Bihar Assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has decided that it’s time to smooth out the rough edges in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state and sort out the small differences among the alliance partners.

On Monday (October 28), Nitish invited all NDA legislators, parliamentarians, and senior leaders in Bihar to his official residence to look for ways to ensure better coordination in the alliance.

Buoyed by the NDA’s success in the last general elections in Bihar, in which it won 30 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats, Nitish reportedly believes that it can cross the 200-mark in the state polls if there is better coordination and synchronisation of strategy within the ruling alliance.

Significance of the meeting

The meeting holds significance for several reasons. One, it can be seen as Nitish’s way of declaring that he remains the face of NDA in Bihar and he will take the lead in making all decisions related to the alliance in the state.

Two, this is the first time since the 2020 Bihar polls that all NDA partners have met up at the residence of the chief minister — after Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) returned to the NDA fold.

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“This was also the first meeting after a split in Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). Smaller parties such as Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha will have important roles to play if the NDA wants to win the Bihar polls comfortably,” Neeraj Kumar, senior leader and spokesperson of the JD(U), told The Federal.

2025 seat-sharing plan

Apart from the effort to improve coordination and understanding between the leaders and workers of the NDA partners, the new-found bonhomie is also crucial for the seat-sharing arrangement being planned for the Assembly elections in November-December 2025.

Senior NDA leaders believe that both the JD(U) and the BJP will contest an equal number of seats, which could number around 105–110 each, while the remaining will be distributed among the smaller partners. The total number of seats is 243.

The NDA in Bihar comprises the BJP, the JD(U), the LJP (Ram Vilas), the HAM, and Upendra Kushwaha.

Also read: Nitish sets target for JD(U) workers: Win NDA 220 seats in Bihar polls

Little coordination among grassroots workers

Four months after the NDA’s Lok Sabha poll success in Bihar, senior BJP and JD(U) leaders felt that although the leadership was on the same page, there was little coordination among the grassroots workers of the different NDA partners in the state.

They believe the JD(U)’s decision to quit the NDA and subsequent return created confusion among the party’s grassroots workers. Similarly, the political clash between Chirag Paswan and his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras also created coordination problems between NDA partners during the polls.

The lack of coordination reflected in the results too. While the NDA did manage to bag 30 Lok Sabha seats, its performance came down substantially compared to the 2019 general elections, when it had won 39 of the 40 seats.

Nitish’s solution

For better coordination along the grassroots workers of the NDA constituents, Nitish has proposed the formation of booth-level committees comprising members of all five alliance partners so that there is no confusion among the grassroot workers.

“The meeting was an attempt by the chief minister to end all past differences and give a message that the NDA is united,” Neeraj said.

Also read: Bihar: Major parties sceptical as Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party throws down the poll gauntlet

Scheme for poor

While trying to bring the NDA house in order way before the assembly elections, Nitish is also planning to announce a scheme to provide financial aid to the poor. Under it, the Bihar government will provide Rs 2 lakh to each BPL (below poverty line) family in the state.

“A survey showed that there are 84 lakh BPL families in Bihar. To help these people improve their financial position, the state government is preparing a blueprint to provide an aid of Rs 2 lakh to all 84 lakh families. This amount will be over and above the other beneficial programmes of the Union and state governments,” Kumar added.

Nitish cementing position in NDA

Political analysts believe Nitish is making an effort to consolidate his position in the alliance because he has realised that the JD(U) will be in a more commanding position if it remains in the NDA fold.

“If we compare Nitish’s position within the NDA and in his alliance with the RJD, it is clear that his association with the RJD was more competitive in nature because Lalu Yadav was keen to make his son Tejaswi Yadav the chief minister of Bihar,” AK Verma, Director at the Centre for the Study of Society and Politics (CSSP), told The Federal.

“But the BJP knows that it needs Nitish to win in Bihar, while Nitish also understands that he is in a more comfortable position in the NDA,” Verma observed.