NEW DELHI: With "Modi-for-PM" chants growing, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar must be closely watching BJP leadership's response to the pressure from within to anoint the resurgent Gujarat chief minister as the party's prime ministerial choice.
Nitish has made it clear that he will walk out of the NDA if the BJP declares Modi to be its choice for the coveted job and, according to sources, is pretty determined to carry out the threat.
The Bihar chief minister, who conveyed his reservations to the BJP leadership, has been assured by BJP chief Nitin Gadkari that his party has not yet decided to project a prime minister. Gadkari also told Nitish that BJP would take the call after sounding out its allies.
Although the assurance does not rule out the possibility of Modi being cast as the party's candidate for PMO at a future date, it provides Nitish adequate political cover to persist with his alliance with the BJP in the face of taunts of "secular" rivals like Ramvilas Paswan for being hand in glove with "communalists".
Aspirations of other BJP leaders to be the chosen one may cause the party to persist with strategic ambiguity on the leadership question. However, the posture of vagueness may become difficult to persist if the "bring Modi" glamour gathers steam, potentially causing complications for ties with Nitish who may wish to ask for a decision well before polls are called.
Nitish's "secular" vow reflects the hard-nosed estimate that acquiescence into Modi's choice will conflict with his project to win over Muslims and hurt his acceptability among "secular" players — and he will like clarity soon enough.
The equation may get tense if a section of the BJP leadership, which holds that Modi's projection can motivate the cadre, draws in those questing for the helmsman and for the China-like growth rates gathers strength. This section holds that Modi will be no hindrance in enlisting new allies like Jayalalitha and Raj Thackeray and holding on to existing ones like Akalis.
As for Nitish's veto, the school contends that the party should not be intimidated by it because there is no guarantee that the JD(U) leader will remain hitched to the BJP irrespective of who the latter may wish to style as its prime ministerial candidate.
Nitish will have a keen eye on Modi’s rise
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Nitish will have a keen eye on Modi’s rise
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Nitish will have a keen eye on Modi’s rise
