The relation between the two ruling NDA partners in Bihar has come under severe strain further with the JD-U indirectly rejecting the BJP’s 50:50 seat-sharing formula for the assembly elections due next year by describing itself as the bigger party than BJP in the matter of seats. The move, coming close on the heels of BJP losing yet another state, Jharkhand, to its rivals is being described as an open rebuff to the saffron party.

Trouble began after JD-U’s national vice-president Prashant Kishor, considered very close to chief minister Nitish Kumar, gave his interview to some news channel declaring that in no way JD-U-BJP would contest on an equal number of seats in the 2020 assembly elections in Bihar. He even added that the formula of 2010 would be adopted in the matter of seat-sharing.

“In no way, JDU-BJP will contest on equal number of seats in 2020 Bihar assembly polls. I can assure you that. In 2019 LS polls, JD-U sacrificed and contested equal number of seats as it was Narendra Modi’s elections. In Bihar, the formula of 2010 will be adopted when JD-U had contested on 143 seats and BJP on 100 seats,” Kishor said in his interview.

The declaration has now set off a fresh spate of the war of words between the two partners with the BJP launching frontal attacks on Kishor. “Some people who have no ideology and entered into politics just for business purposes are trying to create a rift in the NDA to help the opposition but JD-U-BJP relations are tried and tested,” Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted.

2020 का विधानसभा चुनाव प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी और मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार के नेतृत्व में लड़ा जाना तय है। सीटों के तालमेल का निर्णय दोनों दलों का शीर्ष नेतृत्व समय पर करेगा। कोई समस्या नहीं है।

लेकिन जो लोग किसी विचारधारा के तहत नहीं, बल्कि चुनावी डाटा जुटाने और नारे……. pic.twitter.com/aCIUmFkFgL

— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) December 30, 2019

Kishor reacted by describing Modi as being the deputy CM by “circumstances”. “It’s a pleasure to hear lectures from Modi who became the deputy chief minister by circumstances despite losing the 2015 assembly polls,” Kishor tweeted on Tuesday.

बिहार में @NitishKumar का नेतृत्व और JDU की सबसे बड़े दल की भूमिका बिहार की जनता ने तय किया है, किसी दूसरी पार्टी के नेता या शीर्ष नेतृत्व ने नहीं।

2015 में हार के बाद भी परिस्थितिवश DY CM बनने वाले @SushilModi से राजनीतिक मर्यादा और विचारधारा पर व्याख्यान सुनना सुखद अनुभव है।

— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) December 31, 2019

As such, the Grand Alliance comprising the JD-U, RJD, and the Congress had won the last assembly elections, badly defeating the BJP which was restricted to only 53 seats. However, JD-U leader Nitish Kumar broke alliance with the RJD midway and formed his new government with the support of the BJP, thus pushing the ruling RJD to the opposition benches overnight.

Although the BJP rejects Kishor’s observation over seat-sharing as not the “official stand” of the JD-U, yet given the fact that he is only next to the chief minister in the party’s hierarchy it appears he may have the backing of the chief minister over the issue. The kind of relations both enjoy is underlined from the fact that the chief minister has refused to act against Kishor who has been constantly opposing JD-U’s stand for supporting the Citizenship Bill in the parliament. The chief minister even rejected Kishor’s resignation over the issue and asked him to continue in the party saying “…baki sab hampar chhod dijiye (Leave the rest to me)”.