It used to be said that the road to power in Delhi lay through the state of Uttar Pradesh. Either Nitish Kumar forms a new government with Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) support; or he forms a government on his own, using splinters from Prasad’s party. The likelihood of Kumar becoming the prime minister within the fold of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is close to zero. The equation of “kendra mein Narendra aur Bihar mein Nitish Kumar” (Modi at the Centre, Kumar in Bihar) no longer serves his long-term aspirations. The safe strategy for both the BJP and Kumar, then, is to weaken Prasad but not decimate him entirely.

Source: Mint July 13, 2017 03:45 UTC