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Is something about to change in Bihar’s politics? This is a question that is being repeatedly asked after Bihar made national headlines on Friday, 20 May.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the house of former Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in the morning, and by later in the evening, Janata Dal (United) JD(U) head and chief minister Nitish Kumar held an emergency meeting of his party.
Amidst the flurry of activities, RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha and JD(U) minister Mohammad Jama Khan made statements that hinted at the change of winds.
Questions are being raised on the real motive behind the CBI raids.
“The CBI is trying to scare us by encircling us,” he said.
But the question is, what does he mean by 'encircling'? What game is being played behind the veil of sudden activeness of the CBI against Lalu Yadav?
Let us understand why the motive of these raids is being questioned.
An interesting development has been taking place in Bihar politics for the last two months.
Nitish Kumar and RJD leader and Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav were seen hugging each other at an iftar party at Rabri Devi’s house earlier in May.
Kumar was invited by Tejashwi Yadav and he obliged gladly.
Then, it was Kumar's turn to throw a party – attended by both Tej Pratap and Tejashwi Yadav.
The bonhomie was quite visible as pictures of Kumar seeing Tejashwi off up to his vehicle in the doorway were splashed in local media the next day.
The emergency meeting of JD(U) on 20 May has, however, caught everyone's attention.
Kumar held an emergency meeting of JD(U) at his home in which several senior leaders, including Rajiv Ranjan 'Lalan' Singh, were present.
While Khan did not speak in detail about what was to be decided, Jha's comment on 'encirclement' is not a coincidence.
It is not the first time that the CBI is playing a part in the Lalu-Nitish relationship. In 2017, CBI raids in connection with an alleged corruption case in Railway Recruitment Board against Yadav resulted in Tejashwi losing his deputy chief minister post.
Now the question is whether the CBI raids are aimed at reminding Nitish Kumar about his image as an uncompromising politician on the issue of corruption, or whether it is a hint for him against any recusancy.
(Translated from Quint Hindi by Arvind Singh.)
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