The RJD chief on Tuesday said he would back Nitish as prime minister, in a move that political observers said was meant as a double-barrelled salvo: as payback for the Congress "arm-twisting" him to accept Nitish as the Grand Alliance leader, and as insurance for his (Lalu's) family's political legacy.
"Yes of course. There is no doubt about it," Lalu said on Tuesday when asked if he would back Nitish as prime minister candidate. He also said he supported Nitish's call for a "Sangh-free India" and formation of an anti-BJP front for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Nitish, who recently took over as national president of the JDU, has started the process of merger with parties like Ajit Singh's RLD and Babulal Marandi's JVM and has openly declared that he will be take his prohibition drive beyond Bihar. But on Monday, asked who would be the PM candidate, Nitish said there are many who fit the bill.
Political observers felt Lalu's unilateral endorsement of Nitish - even though the chief minister's efforts to cobble up an anti-BJP front are still at an "embryonic stage" and the JDU is yet to get a nod from bigger regional parties like the SP, BSP, BJP and Trinamul Congress - was aimed at the Congress.
The observers recalled that in the formative stages of the Grand Alliance, Lalu was reluctant to accept Nitish as chief minister candidate and wanted the leadership issue to be settled after the polls. Nitish had then asked the Congress to put pressure on Lalu.
"A virtually reluctant Lalu was arm-twisted by the Congress to accept Nitish's terms for the alliance," said a former JDU MP. "Lalu ji had even said he would drink poison to defeat the BJP. Now by accepting Nitish as the PM candidate, he is only getting back at the Congress. Every politician in the country knows that Nitish as PM candidate will mean trouble for the Congress."
Political circles were also agog that Lalu's statement is meant to insure the political future of his family. His younger son, deputy chief minister Tejaswi, is believed to be Lalu's favourite to inherit his political baton. While older brother Tej Pratap has landed in a few controversies, Tejaswi has won admirers with his functioning and pro-development stance.
"If Nitish does move to the Centre, the RJD would have a natural claim over the chief minister's post, because it is the bigger partner and our commitment during the Bihar Assembly polls was to make Nitish chief minister, which we have already done," said an RJD MLA close to Lalu. "The commitment was not for any other leader of the JDU."
The BJP has sensed that here is a stick to beat the Grand Alliance with.
"If Nitish ji is so interested in national politics, he should move and make either Tej Pratap or Tejaswi the chief minister," BJP leader Sushil Modi said on Tuesday, adding that governance had suffered and crime had surged because of Nitish's "national politics ambitions".
-The Telegraph Calcutta