Will the BJP unhinge itself from its alliance with Nitish Kumar and his party, the JD(U), in Bihar? "You should all relax," was the Bihar Chief Minister's only response this morning. (Watch)The atmosphere, however, was far from relaxed at the Raj Bhawan in Patna, where Modi and his Deputy Chief Minister, the BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi, attended the swearing-in of the new Chief Justice. The two leaders did not speak to each other through the ceremony.
Kumar then left for the airport for a rally in Nalanda, unaccompanied by any BJP leader - an ominous sign for a partnership on the brink of collapse since last week. That's when Kumar objected publicly and zealously to ads placed by the BJP in Bihar newspapers to coincide with the party's National Executive meeting in Patna.
One of the ads showed Nitish Kumar with Narendra Modi at a rally. Another highlighted Gujarat's donation to Bihar for the floods in Kosi in 2008. Kumar says the BJP did not seek his permission for the ads, and on Sunday, the Bihar government returned Gujarat's 5 crore donation. In earlier statements, Kumar had said Gujarat's decision to brag about its help to Bihar was in poor taste.
Bihar votes later this year and Kumar, who needs to woo Muslim votes away from leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav, does not want his secular image to be tarnished by association with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Both the BJP and the JD(U) have publicly snubbed each other over the last few days.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari is likely to decide today on whether to end the political marriage with Kumar. In Delhi, the head of the BJP in Bihar, CP Thakur, met with senior leader LK Advani. Party sources say that Thakur requested that senior leaders make a final decision on the Nitish alliance within a week
