Nitish’s
Turning point
Various
theories and reasons are being attributed to the parting of ways between Bihar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP leading to the fall of the NDA
government. There is no dearth of analysts who say that die was cast of this
development the day Chirag Paswan decided to field candidates in Bihar Assembly
polls in March 2020 and JD (U) was reduced to 43 seats in a House of 243, a
worst-ever performance. The RCP Singh episode was the ultimate straw in the
camel’s back. In between, public spat had been going on between the BJP and JD
(U) leaders which remained unchecked even after BJP’s emissary & Cabinet Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan was also sent to Nitish Kumar to assuage his hurt feelings
and matter subsided. But the turning point came on July 12 when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi visited Patna to attend the centenary year function of the Bihar
Assembly. But the invitation card issued by the Bihar Assembly Speaker’s office
did not contain the names of Governor Fagu Chauhan, CM Nitish Kumar and Leader
of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav. The two-page invitation card (in Hindi) had
only one name; Vijay Kumar Sinha who is the Speaker. It was considered an
insult to the Chief Minister though Nitish Kumar attended the function but the
die was cast. Sources close to Nitish Kumar say that it was against the
protocol and all norms to omit the name of Chief Minister and Governor. It is
pointed out that wherever the Prime Minister goes for a function, the draft
invitation card, minute-to-minute program, list of invitees etc are
pre-approved by the PMO. The JD (U) wondered how the PMO overlooked this lapse!
The Speaker belonged to the BJP and the incident became the turning point
and the parting came in less than four weeks.
BJP’s
Jharkhand Mission on Hold
With
Bihar gone, BJP's ambition of pulling down the JMM-Congress coalition
government has gone for a toss, at least temporarily. In fact, the BJP was
concentrating on dislodging the Hemant Soren government after the raids on
Mining Secretary Pooja Singhal’s residence and others resulting in the massive
cash haul and evidence surfacing linking Soren with it. As part of this
mission, the three Congress MLAs were given cash in neighbouring West Bengal
where they were arrested by the Police and haven’t got bail so far or relief
from the court. The involvement of a BJP Chief Minister in the entire episode
also surfaced. The arrest and recovery of cash from these MLAs put the BJP on
the back foot though most of the Congress MLAs had been compromised. The
‘Operation Lotus’ has now been put on hold in Jharkhand as a perception is
developing in the country that BJP is using cash to lure MLAs from the
Opposition parties. Though there is no evidence to buttress such a perception.
The BJP is looking up to Mamata Banerjee for some relief in the case as
Jharkhand MLAs case is being probed by the West Bengal Police and not by the
CBI. Even the ED has not stepped in so far though ED goes after each such case
where cash haul is recovered. It is a different matter that the Soren
government may not survive for too long.
Nadda
is fitness freak
BJP
Chief J P Nadda has a new passion these days; health. He has shed almost 8
kilos of weight and intends to lose another five kg. He does his morning
workouts for almost an hour at his Motilal Nehru Marg residence or
whenever gets an opportunity through his extremely busy schedule. Even while traveling,
he finds places to do his morning drill. He has set up a small gym too and does
his morning Yoga drill and a coach is there to ensure that every posture is
perfect. Though he is busier after becoming BJP chief in 2020 but he can’t
afford to gain weight at the age of 61 years. Even the PM had been cautioning
his ministerial colleagues to focus on their health and do regular yoga
exercises. Many Cabinet ministers have set up small gyms at their residences
and go for early morning long walks too. Most BJP MPs in Delhi could be seen
running in Delhi's gardens in the early morning reflecting cautiousness towards
health. In fact, the PM had even advised RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav at the July
12 function in Patna, “Thoda wajan kam karo.” (reduce some weight). Modi
himself is known to practice yoga regularly. Tejashawi, however, has put on
weight only after his marriage last year. But he has taken the PM’s
advice quite seriously. Though he is now Deputy Chief Minister, he begins
early and spends almost an hour in health. Tejashwi plays table tennis at his
residence too. He was a cricketer too.
