Nitish Kumar has jumped between the BJP, Congress, and/or Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal since 2013, so much so that he has acquired the moniker ‘Paltu Ram‘. After parting ways with the BJP in 2022, he had taken on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the 2024 elections.
The latest speculation about his switch was triggered after the BJP awarded a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, to former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur. Mr Thakur was an iconic socialist leader who was Chief Minister twice in the 1970s and is credited with implementing the state’s contentious alcohol prohibition policy. Still remembered today as ‘Jan Nayak’, or ‘leader of the people’, Karpoori Thakur’s legacy remains a valuable asset for political parties today.
Nitish Kumar visited the Bihar Governor’s residence on Republic Day without his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, hinting at the discord between his party Janata Dal (United), and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).  
Nitish Kumar’s former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi’s cryptic statement, “No door is closed in politics. The door can be opened if needed,” has added another layer of suspense to the development.
According to leaders close to the 72-year-old, the January 13 meeting of the INDIA alliance was the turning point. In that meeting, Nitish Kumar’s name was proposed as Convenor by CPM Leader Sitaram Yechury and endorsed by almost all leaders, including Lalu Yadav and Sharad Pawar. However, Rahul Gandhi interjected and said a decision on this would have to wait as Trinamool Congress leader and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had reservations over Nitish Kumar for the role.
A flurry of activities have started across Bihar adding fire to the reports that Nitish Kumar will bid adieu to the now-stuttering Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc.
The Bihar government transferred 79 Indian Police Service (IPS) and 45 Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) officers on Friday.
The BJP has convened a meeting to discuss strategies for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, hinting at a possible alliance with Nitish Kumar. State unit chief Samrat Choudhary downplays speculations, but sources say behind-the-scenes discussions are on.
Amid the crisis, both the Congress and RJD have called for meetings of their legislators. But Congress denies any connection to the evolving political scenario and claims that the meeting is to discuss preparations for Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.
Nitish Kumar has convened a session of the legislative party at 10 am on Sunday. Reports suggest that he could join hands and officially stake claim to the Chief Minister post for an unprecedented ninth time, backed by the BJP later tomorrow.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to “buy” seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs with an offer of Rs 25 crore each in a bid to destabilise his government in the national capital.

Mr Kejriwal claimed that the BJP engaged in talks with the AAP legislators and purportedly threatened imminent arrest for the Delhi Chief Minister in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. The alleged conversation involved a sinister plan to topple the AAP government in Delhi.

In a long social media post, the Delhi Chief Minister alleged, “Recently, they [BJP] has contacted 7 of our MLAs of Delhi and said – ‘We will arrest Kejriwal after a few days. After that, we will break the MLAs. Talks have been held with 21 MLAs. Talking to others also. After that, we will topple the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi. You can also come. Will give Rs 25 crore and contest the elections on BJP ticket.'”

पिछले दिनों इन्होंने हमारे दिल्ली के 7 MLAs को संपर्क कर कहा है – “कुछ दिन बाद केजरीवाल को गिरफ़्तार कर लेंगे। उसके बाद MLAs को तोड़ेंगे। 21 MLAs से बात हो गयी है। औरों से भी बात कर रहे हैं। उसके बाद दिल्ली में आम आदमी पार्टी की सरकार गिरा देंगे। आप भी आ जाओ। 25 करोड़ रुपये देंगे…

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 27, 2024

Despite the claim of contacting 21 MLAs, Mr Kejriwal insisted that the information available to the AAP suggests that only seven MLAs have been approached, and all of them have firmly declined the tempting offer.

“This means that I am not being arrested to investigate any liquor scam but they are conspiring to topple the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi,” Mr Kejriwal stated. “In the last nine years, they hatched many conspiracies to topple our government. But they did not get any success. God and the people always supported us. All our MLAs are also strongly together. This time also these people will fail in their nefarious intentions.”

Mr Kejriwal added that the alleged attempts to destabilise his government are driven by the AAP’s good work in the national capital. Despite various obstacles, Mr Kejriwal added, the people of Delhi hold immense love for AAP, making it difficult for the BJP to defeat them in elections.

Narayana Murthy, Infosys founder, spoke about his plans after leaving the company in a freewheeling chat with NDTV. He categorically denied any plans of joining politics as the 78-year-old industrialist believes he’s too old for that now.

“I think I’m too old for any of that. I’m now 78,” Mr Murthy said when asked if he would now consider a career in politics.

Elaborating on his plans, the tech billionaire said that he now plans to spend time with his children and his grandchildren. He also plans to enjoy music and read up on a variety of topics ranging from physics to economics.

“This is the time for me to enjoy the progress of our grandchildren, the progress of our children, the progress of our younger colleagues, this is the time for me to read more about physics, mathematics, philosophy, economics, and other things. This is the time to enjoy music,” Mr Murthy said.

“This is the time when to the extent possible, I should be seen but not heard. Ideal, ideal, but that’s very difficult,” he added.  

Author and philanthropist Sudha Murty, Mr Murthy’s wife, also said that she does not need to join politics to serve the public.

“I’ve done public service I helped people. I’ve handled 14 national disasters and one pandemic. So I do public service. But I don’t require a position for that. I’m happy like this. So, I want this storytime is another way of servicing, giving the good moral values,” Ms Murty said.
 
Narayana Murthy made headlines last year when he appealed to youngsters in India to work 70 hours a week. The comment was criticised by working professionals as well as other CEOs for promoting a lack of work-life balance.