NDA on verge of split as JD(U) continues exit noises - Livemint

Updated: Fri, Jun 14 2013. 10 17 PM IST New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appeared to remain on the verge of a split, although the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained that it wants to hold the grouping together even as Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), leader Nitish Kumar remained ambiguous about whether his party would stay within the fold or break away to join a so-called Third Front. "The situation is such that there are problems (in continuing within the alliance)," Kumar told reporters in Patna on Friday. In reply to a question on whether it would exit the NDA, Kumar recited a couplet in Hindi to the effect that while the blessing was being sought for life, the medicine being administered was for death. "On the one hand, some are giving suggestions that it is such an old alliance that it should continue. On the other hand, the conditions are such that there are problems," he said. Experts and those aware of the developments said a split in the 17-year-old alliance was only days away, adding that such an eventuality would be a blow to the BJP, which would be left with few allies. The BJP and the JD(U) have fought both general elections and the state polls in Bihar jointly since 1999 and the alliance has been in power in the state since 2005. "I do not see them fighting the next elections together now. It is a matter of one or two more days. It is almost a forgone conclusion now," said Sanjay Kumar, a political analyst and fellow at New Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). "Political realignments will happen (in the state), but it will take some time." Differences between the two parties intensified last week after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was made the head of the BJP's campaign committee for the 2014 general election. The JD(U) expressed its displeasure over the move even as Kumar said that he was in touch with the chief ministers of West Bengal and Orissa over a likely political front that would be an alternative to the Congress and the BJP. Some JD(U) leaders were more unequivocal than Nitish Kumar about the division between the two sides. "The BJP wants that the blame for breaking the alliance comes on JD(U), but the fact is otherwise. We had made our stand clear a long time back. Our opinion on Modi was well known. We never invited Modi to Bihar for any election that the NDA fought there," said senior JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari. On its part, the central leadership of the BJP emphasized the need for a united opposition. "Only a united opposition can defeat the Congress. Whenever the opposition got united, the Congress was defeated. Therefore, the NDA's unity is a historical necessity. We must do everything to keep the NDA united," said Sushma Swaraj, a senior BJP leader and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha. "This development would clearly be a big blow for the NDA and specifically to the BJP. It will be a challenge for the BJP to attract new allies," said Kumar of CSDS. The picture may become clearer on Saturday when Sharad Yadav, one of the few JD(U) members keen on staying within the alliance, attends a meeting in Patna with party legislators. "The alliance of the NDA exists for now, but the alliance has to continue under the norms of the national agenda of the NDA under which the coalition has functioned so far," Yadav told reporters in the national capital. In the 243-seat Bihar legislative assembly, the JD(U) has 115 seats while the BJP has 91. The Bihar unit of the BJP was not inclined to adopt a conciliatory approach. It accused the JD(U) of trying to block a function that it was seeking to organize for BJP president Rajnath Singh. Bihar BJP president Mangal Pandey said that the matter was discussed at a core committee meeting held at senior BJP leader and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi's residence in Patna. According to Pandey, senior BJP leaders criticized the "unsavoury" development. Meanwhile, in a related development, Sitaram Yechury, senior leader and politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), met JD(U) chief Yadav and suggested that the two may have discussed a so-called Third Front. "What we want is alternative policies. Left parties have called a political convention on 1 July. It will discuss the alternative policy framework," he said. In reply to a question on whether the Left would join a Third Front, Yechury said it "depends upon the programme and policies" of such a platform. PTI contributed to this story. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGz2jEo902Cb-xESwIssAox1ILzGg&url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/zKR4Dg5PxB3zRUvVRyCWnJ/No-ultimatum-to-BJP-on-leaving-NDA-Sharad-Yadav.html

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