Patna: Cracks seem to have developed in JD(U)-BJP alliance in Bihar ahead of assembly polls in the wake of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's angry outburst on Saturday over his photo appearing along side that of his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi in an advertisement and questions are being raised over the future of the tie-up before the elections.
BJP leaders on condition of anonymity said it appears to be the end of the road for the alliance and both the parties could go their own way in the polls.
They said there was a purpose in Saturday's action by Kumar who has been wanting to go it alone in Bihar polls.
By targetting Modi, Kumar has played the minority card in the hope that it would give him dividends in the hustings, given the fact that 16 per cent of the state's population belongs to minority community.
Nitish had earlier used the 'Maha-Dalit' as also the Mahila cards to expand his base as he is working towards greater benefits for the most-backward among Dalits as also for women in the state.
He has given 50 per cent reservation to women in panchayat and local bodies for the upcoming elections as also 50 per cent reservation in the appointment of teachers.
Incidentally, BJP leaders also recalled the overtures Congress had made to Kumar before the results of the last Lok Sabha polls were announced.
If the alliance between the BJP and the JD(U) breaks apart, it would be the second biggest setback for the BJP after its longtime ally Biju Janata Dal (BJD) severed ties with the party ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Naveen Patnaik had dumped the BJP ahead of assembly elections in Orissa, which coincided with parliamentary elections, and managed to secure a majority in the state assembly.
Ad fallout
On Saturday, Nitish Kumar cancelled a dinner he was to host for BJP leaders, apparently miffed over a series of full page advertisements that appeared in vernacular dailies showing him with Modi. He also threatened legal action against the agency that had released the advertisements
Though no official reason was given for the cancellation of the dinner, Janata Dal-United (JD-U) sources hinted that the move was a fallout of the advertisements. The BJP leaders are in Patna to attend the party's two-day national executive that began on Saturday morning.
The advertisement, published in the name of dozens of people of Bihar who are now settled in Gujarat, projected Modi as a close friend of the Nitish Kumar and highlighted his state's generous help after the 2008 Kosi floods in Bihar.
Nitish Kumar said that he was stunned on seeing the advertisement, hours before Modi arrived here to attend the BJP meet.
"Enough is enough. I will not tolerate such a blunder. I will take possible legal action against the advertising agency for using my photograph along with Narendra Modi without my permission and knowledge," Nitish Kumar told reporters.
Noting it was illegal to publish anyone's picture without permission, Nitish Kumar also criticised the reference to Modi's help for Kosi relief efforts, and asked his officials to return the money given by the Gujarat government.
"It is against our culture and age-old tradition that a helping hand extended to people in crisis or in pain is not reminded of and propagated. It is uncivilised," he said.
Responding to questions about the dinner's cancellation, BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said that for the party, dinners or lunches hardly matter. "For us, dinner or lunch comes last," he said.
The BJP sought to downplay the cancellation, saying it had been decided to have dinner at the venue of the meeting itself instead of going to the Chief Minister's official residence.
He clarified that Gujarat government has not issued the advertisement.
"The advertisement issued in local dailies has nothing to with the Gujarat government," Hussain said.
(With PTI, IANS and CNN-IBN inputs)
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