A political alliance challenging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been dealt a blow ahead of national elections with the leader of an opposition-held state having switched sides to join forces with the ruling party.
Nitish Kumar had led the government in the eastern state of Bihar as chief minister with a coalition of smaller parties since 2022, but over the weekend agreed to form a new government with Modi¡¯s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Kumar was one of the key players behind the 28-party alliance created last year to fight the BJP at elections due in a few months time. But he¡¯s considered a fickle partner, having switched alliances several times in the past. His party had previously aligned with the BJP to run the state of Bihar in 2020, before severing ties in 2022.
Even so, his latest move is a setback for India¡¯s opposition, which faces a prime minister and ruling party strengthened in recent weeks: the BJP won decisive victories in key state elections in December, the economy is booming, and Modi was hailed by his Hindu support base for the high-profile opening last week of a temple in the city of Ayodhya, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The Indian National Congress, the country¡¯s main opposition party, tried to play down the latest development, saying coalition talks are usually bumpy.
¡°There is a journey for a grand alliance and that journey has speed breakers, and there are red, yellow and green lights during that journey. And then the destination comes,¡± Pawan Khera, spokesperson for the Congress party, said Sunday.
With a population larger than any nation in the European Union, Bihar sends 40 lawmakers to parliament, making it crucial in the elections.
The political alliance is facing other challenges as well. Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the state of West Bengal and the head of the Trinamool Congress party, said recently her party will contest the elections in the state alone. Another opposition group, the Aam Aadmi Party, said it will not join forces with Congress in the northern state of Punjab. Alliance leaders have continued to say that negotiations and conversations are ongoing.
¡°There have been several high profile exits from opposition parties with many of those leaders making their way to the BJP,¡± Shumita Deveshwar, chief India economist at TS Lombard, said by phone. ¡°It shows the BJP¡¯s strength and the opposition¡¯s weakness.¡±
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