How BJP’s fine-tuning its Nitish Kumar outreach to keep things smooth-sailing for Modi 3.0
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J.P. Nadda has visited Bihar three times in two months and met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar several times, participating in official programmes and visiting his home. The reason? The stability of the Modi government’s third term, which lies partly in the hands of Nitish, an unpredictable ally.
Given the vulnerability and high stakes, party leaders from both sides say there has been a significant shift in the BJP’s strategy in dealing with the Janata Dal (United) chief with the top-level BJP leadership interacting with him directly this time.
In the 2024 general elections, the BJP fell short of the majority mark of 272 seats, forcing it to rely on National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner JD(U)’s 12 seats—and the 16 seats won by And...