11-25-2005, 07:59 PM
<b>JD(U) squirming, BJP steps back: Narendra Modi absent </b>
<b>By MANINI CHATTERJEE </b> -<i> Who is this person? What are his credentials?</i>
<b>PATNA, NOVEMBER 24:</b> In face of sharp misgivings from a section of the Janata Dal (U) and fearing street protests by RJD and other political parties,Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was persuaded not to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Nitish Kumar government at the Gandhi Maidan here today.
Even at 10 this morning, officials at the airport confirmed that Modiâs special flight was scheduled to land at 11.30 am and that he would head straight for Gandhi Maidan. Later, his no-show was attributed to a âtechnical snagâ in his aircraft while BJP leader Sushil Modi claimed that his namesake had decided to give the ceremony a skip because of âother engagements.â
The real reason, sources said, was that the BJP leadership here realised that Modiâs presence on the very first day of the new government would âembarrassâ the JD(U) and create unnecessary tension at the ground level between the two parties.
JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, known for his no-nonsense manner and blunt speech, had warned the BJP right from the beginning not to let either âcinemawallahsâ and âHindutvawadisâ to have anything to do with the election campaign. Although Uma Bharati campaigned extensively, she was asked to stick to the issue of Biharâs development and Lalooâs misrule. Sharad Yadav, sources said, ticked her off for mentioning Hindutva at the very last poll meeting at Gandhi Maidan on November 17. The absence of both Narendra Modi and Shatrughan Sinha today is a result of that early warning, JD(U) sources claimed. With the emergence of Sharad Yadav as the key decision-maker of the JD(U), the âsocialistâ and âsecularâ traditions of the party are likely to get strengthened, they added.
While Nitish Kumar was the chief ministerial candidate and tireless campaigner for the party, Sharad Yadav played a strong supporting role and has enhanced his stature by smashing Lalooâs bastion in the Yadav-dominated Kosi belt comprising Madhepura, Saharsa and Supaul districts. Sharad Yadav, who had once defeated Laloo Yadav in Madhepura, had addressed over 250 meetings in course of this election campaign.
<b>Following the partyâs sweep, Yadav has become the organisational strongman of the JD(U) while governance has been entrusted to Nitish.
Nitish, sources said, had now âcome out of George Fernandesâ gripâ and the Nitish-Sharad combine had replaced the George-Nitish duo in Bihar.</b> This development, a JD(U) leader said, would strengthen the âsecularâ traditions of the party and facilitate the realignment of the fragmented non-Congress, non-BJP âJanata parivarâ in the long term. <b>In this context, it is significant that the one non-NDA chief minister who Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav had personally invited to todayâs swearing-in ceremony was Mulayam Singh Yadav.</b> Though he did not make it today, a new friendship and cooperation between the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh could be on the cards, sources said.
That apart, the JD(U)âwhile holding on to its alliance with the BJPâwill also make efforts to become the rallying point for all the âMandal forcesâ in the state in the days to come, sources said. If the BJP sees the victory in Bihar as a starting point for increasing its ideological influence in the state, the anti-BJP sections within the JD(U) are hoping to become the central pole of a âsocialistâ revival in the state. The RJD, they concede, had become the natural platform of the âpichchde, garib, aur alpsankhyakâ (poor, backward, and minorities) in Bihar. With the RJDâs crushing defeat and the marginalisation of the LJP, the âmasses behind the two parties could gravitate towards us,â a JD(U) leader said, conjuring a dream scenario of his party reaching a position when it was no longer dependent on the BJP.
<b>By MANINI CHATTERJEE </b> -<i> Who is this person? What are his credentials?</i>
<b>PATNA, NOVEMBER 24:</b> In face of sharp misgivings from a section of the Janata Dal (U) and fearing street protests by RJD and other political parties,Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was persuaded not to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Nitish Kumar government at the Gandhi Maidan here today.
Even at 10 this morning, officials at the airport confirmed that Modiâs special flight was scheduled to land at 11.30 am and that he would head straight for Gandhi Maidan. Later, his no-show was attributed to a âtechnical snagâ in his aircraft while BJP leader Sushil Modi claimed that his namesake had decided to give the ceremony a skip because of âother engagements.â
The real reason, sources said, was that the BJP leadership here realised that Modiâs presence on the very first day of the new government would âembarrassâ the JD(U) and create unnecessary tension at the ground level between the two parties.
JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, known for his no-nonsense manner and blunt speech, had warned the BJP right from the beginning not to let either âcinemawallahsâ and âHindutvawadisâ to have anything to do with the election campaign. Although Uma Bharati campaigned extensively, she was asked to stick to the issue of Biharâs development and Lalooâs misrule. Sharad Yadav, sources said, ticked her off for mentioning Hindutva at the very last poll meeting at Gandhi Maidan on November 17. The absence of both Narendra Modi and Shatrughan Sinha today is a result of that early warning, JD(U) sources claimed. With the emergence of Sharad Yadav as the key decision-maker of the JD(U), the âsocialistâ and âsecularâ traditions of the party are likely to get strengthened, they added.
While Nitish Kumar was the chief ministerial candidate and tireless campaigner for the party, Sharad Yadav played a strong supporting role and has enhanced his stature by smashing Lalooâs bastion in the Yadav-dominated Kosi belt comprising Madhepura, Saharsa and Supaul districts. Sharad Yadav, who had once defeated Laloo Yadav in Madhepura, had addressed over 250 meetings in course of this election campaign.
<b>Following the partyâs sweep, Yadav has become the organisational strongman of the JD(U) while governance has been entrusted to Nitish.
Nitish, sources said, had now âcome out of George Fernandesâ gripâ and the Nitish-Sharad combine had replaced the George-Nitish duo in Bihar.</b> This development, a JD(U) leader said, would strengthen the âsecularâ traditions of the party and facilitate the realignment of the fragmented non-Congress, non-BJP âJanata parivarâ in the long term. <b>In this context, it is significant that the one non-NDA chief minister who Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav had personally invited to todayâs swearing-in ceremony was Mulayam Singh Yadav.</b> Though he did not make it today, a new friendship and cooperation between the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh could be on the cards, sources said.
That apart, the JD(U)âwhile holding on to its alliance with the BJPâwill also make efforts to become the rallying point for all the âMandal forcesâ in the state in the days to come, sources said. If the BJP sees the victory in Bihar as a starting point for increasing its ideological influence in the state, the anti-BJP sections within the JD(U) are hoping to become the central pole of a âsocialistâ revival in the state. The RJD, they concede, had become the natural platform of the âpichchde, garib, aur alpsankhyakâ (poor, backward, and minorities) in Bihar. With the RJDâs crushing defeat and the marginalisation of the LJP, the âmasses behind the two parties could gravitate towards us,â a JD(U) leader said, conjuring a dream scenario of his party reaching a position when it was no longer dependent on the BJP.