In 2017, when Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar walked out of the Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD, Congress and JD (U), and formed the government with the support of the BJP, many said that his decision to join the NDA was fraught with contradictions.
Fast-forward to April 25, 2019, at an election rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bihar's Darbhanga, Nitish's uneasy truce with the ruling party at the Centre was on full display.
In a video that surfaced on social media recently, PM Modi, after finishing his speech, is seen raising clenched fists and chanting "Bharat Mata ki Jai" as the fellow leaders on stage and the attendees joined the chorus.
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But in the middle of all this was one leader, observing the spectacle with his left index finger on his upper lip. Modi, seeing the response from the audience, quickly switched to "Vande Mataram" as the leaders on stage stood up and started pumping fists in the air.
Kumar, however, was the last one to stand, with little enthusiasm, and perhaps compelled by circumstances.
His party, JD(U), has made no bones about its differences with the BJP over contentious issues such as Triple Talaq and abrogation of Article 370.
The footage set the social media abuzz about the next possible move of Bihar chief minister, who before ditching the Mahagathbandhan, had the potential to challenge PM Modi.
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Kumar kept Modi at a distance when the latter was still the chief minister of Gujarat in the wake of 2002 communal riots and snapped ties with the BJP when it made him the chief of its election campaign committee ahead of the 2014 general election.
Just a week before the election schedule was announced, the JD(U) national executive adopted a resolution against abrogation of Article 370 which the BJP has promised in its manifesto.
