Sound-byte reductionism of public discourse has made it easy for political parties to create false binaries to suit their aims. In the latest instance of the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s re-adoption of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the chief protagonists have carefully framed a facetious narrative that paints the Grand Alliance as a basically corrupt but apparently secular coalition while the BJP is synonymous with cleanliness and honesty. As is the case with political messaging in general, the reality is more complex and has less to do with principles and ideology than opportunism and personal ambitions. Nitish Kumar’s aim in the move to “renounce” the chief minister’s post was simple: to signal that honesty is above material considerations of power. According to his just-appointed deputy chief minister, Sushil Kumar Modi, the charges against Lalu Prasad and Tejaswi Yadav were, in fact, first exposed by the JD(U). It is thus hard to imagine that Nitish was unaware of Lalu’s corruption when he rode on his back to power after shunning the BJP for allegedly failing to protect secularism.
That brings us to what seems to be the real motive behind Nitish choosing this precise moment to desert the “secular” camp and join forces with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The astute politician clearly believes that secularism is not so marketable now that Modi is dominating popular consciousness. Some of Nitish’s utterances, especially those concerning the failure of the Congress to find an alternative discourse and vision for India, almost inadvertently reflect his true belief — that the opposition alliance that he has been promoting at the national level is a non-starter. In this context, with the ruling BJP tightening its noose around all effective political opponents, Nitish chose the safer side with better future prospects. “Communalism”, a charge he levelled at the BJP during the anointment of Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, is not so relevant or politically saleable in the present context. Just as “secularism” was irrelevant when he was railway minister and the bogeys of the Sabarmati Express were gutted in Godhra in February, 2002. Even the statutory enquiry was not ordered by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar.
Indeed, the Bihar chief minister is a master salesman who can market secularism or corruption depending on which side he is on. That brings us to the alacrity with which the Prime Minister tweeted his approval of Nitish’s decision to “join the fight against corruption” and enlisted him into the NDA. Not only does it facilitate the BJP’s conquest of Bihar but it is tailored to embellish the dominant narrative that Modi is the lone political titan combating corruption in public life. With Nitish being his lieutenant in Bihar, Modi has pulled the rug from beneath the Mahagathbandhan. As is evident from his re-appointment as chief minister in less than 24 hours after he had resigned listening to his “voice of conscience”, Nitish’s moves have even less to do with ideology and beliefs.