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| English: Nitish Kumar (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The extreme right in the BJP organizations are housed in the RSS, and the RSS is not warm to Modi. Apparently Modi irks the right wingers inside his own party. And the presence of Nitish' party in the NDA makes it less possible for the BJP to flare its extreme right ways and thinking. Nitish' presence means moderation in the NDA.
The Biju Janada Dal just rallied behind Modi and is showing signs of coming back into the NDA. Mulayam recently sang praises of LK Advani. His party has given outside support to the Congress. It might also opt to give outside support to the BJP.
It just might end up that Modi ends up leading not only the BJP but also an expanded NDA, one where the BJP is the largest party but not the majority party, and that expansion makes room for Nitish to take over at the helm after Modi has served two terms and opts for a voluntary retirement.
And so you might be looking at two terms of Modi and another two terms of Nitish at the helm. That would be good news if it brings about double digit growth rates for India for two decades in a row. But two decades are an extremely long time for a large democracy like India. You always have to watch out for events that fundamentally change the equation, or for personalities that emerge almost out of the blue.
But for now the NDA has momentum, and Modi is striding along. The era of the Congress being the default party for power might be over.
Nitish, Modi Or Rahul?
Nitish In Ramlila Maidan
