JD (U) is going all guns to keep Narendra Modi away from becoming the only preference for position of Prime Minister’s post in NDA. It is rallying behind Lal Krishan Advani, better known as Prime Minister in waiting.
It is perhaps the biggest political irony and reality too that when Lal Krishan Advani is himself keeping quiet on the issue, JD (U) has decided to rake up the issue to mend its political differences with the BJP in general and Narendra Modi in particular.
JD (U) leader, Devesh Chandra Thakur in his interaction with media pointed out that NDA had earlier contested under the leadership of Lal Krishan Advani and the coalition would not be having any trouble in fighting the elections under his leadership.
This is quite contrast to the liking of other coalition partners who have had reservations about Lal Krishan Advani’s leadership as NDA lost the elections when they were fought under the leadership of Advani.
JD (U) had earlier mended fences with Congress Party and during his recent public appearance in Delhi, he had given signals to this effect. The Congress party also took full advantage of this situation and declared that it could consider Bihar’s case for inclusion under backward states. This would have made it eligible for special grants from the centre.
Perhaps both Congress and Nitish Kumar realized the folly soon as Congress would have acknowledged the fact that Bihar can progress under Nitish Kumar and the JD (U) would have lost its political edge as Lalu Parsad would have taken the credit for the same on account of his being a part of the UPA.
This motivated JD (U) to rally behind Lal Krishan Advani as the party sees Narendra Modi as a threat to Nitish Kumar. JD (U) is playing its card with utmost care and has infact asked the BJP to come clear with the name of the Prime Ministerial candidate before the elections. It points out that in previous years too the names of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishan Advani for the position of Prime Minister’s candidature were declared before the elections.
However, if one reads between the lines, this pressure tactics of JD (U) urging the BJP to declare the candidature for the post of Prime Minister in advance has some other reasons too. In case, BJP decides to go ahead with the name of Narendra Modi for the position of Prime Minister’s post, the party can look for other options, well in time.
In such a scenario where the candidature for the post is declared after the elections, JD (U) will find it in a difficult spot in case Narendra Modi’s name is projected. Perhaps the obligations of coalition politics makes it difficult for JD (U) to speak in clear terms. Unmindful of its public posture, JD (U) is failing to realize that voter has grown too smart and any public utterance if done in unclear words can cause damage to the political fortunes of any party.
However, the voter is watching with interest and given their understanding of Indian Politics, it is unlikely that they will open their cards before the general elections.
