An unlikely alliance, a bitterly fought election, a comprehensive victory and finally, Nitish Kumar is the chief minister of Bihar again. However, his ally and senior Lalu Prasad’s RJD has won more seats. And by making his 26-year-old son Tejaswi Yadav the deputy CM, could Lalu lose some of the goodwill he has generated beyond his traditional vote-bank?
There are two ways of looking at the elevation of Lalu’s sons.
His supporters may well argue that the RJD has won more seats than the JD(U) and Tejaswi and his brother Tej Pratap (also sworn in as a minister) have won elections legitimately. Why shouldn’t Lalu and the RJD insist on their elevation? After all, as the dominant partner in the alliance they are well within their rights to do so.