Patna:
The downward spiral of the partnership between the BJP and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was caused at least in part, say sources, by the ignominy of a recent election that was lost by the alliance.
On June 5, Mr Kumar's party, the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), lost the parliamentary seat of Maharajganj in western Bihar. The constituency chose to stay with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), whose chief Lalu Yadav said that this proves Bihar is losing its faith in the Chief Minister.
PK Shahi, the state's Education Minister, was the candidate of the ruling alliance and was defeated by a massive margin.
The main reason for the JD(U)'s determination to ditch the BJP is that the latter has chosen Narendra Modi to lead its election campaign. Mr Kumar's antipathy for Mr Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, is well-established.
The JD(U)'s inquest of the Maharajganj verdict has convinced the party that the BJP is weighing it down.
JD(U) sources say they analysed results from 60 polling stations dominated by Muslims, and found that Mr Shahi got 40% of their votes. The party feels that delaying a split from the BJP could alienate minority voters.
JD(U) sources add that even in areas where the BJP is dominant, it was unable to deliver strong numbers for Mr Shahi.
Mangal Pandey is the president of the BJP in Bihar. The results from the polling booth in his village of Ballia show that Mr Shahi landed 172 votes. Lalu's candidate got 424.
Within Maharajganj, there are two assembly constituencies represented by BJP legislators, so the alliance's candidate should have done well at least here. In one of them, Taraya, he tanked. In the other, he did reasonably better, but there was cause for concern here too, because Lalu's party polled significantly better than it had in the last assembly election, indicating a growing support.
Local BJP leaders say the JD(U) should examine its own contribution to the embarrassing defeat. In the village of Gautam Singh, a JD(U) minister, Lalu's candidate got 554 votes; Mr Shahi got just 18.