Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not join the Congress’ ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ when it enters his state on January 30, sources said Thursday afternoon. Sources said an invitation was extended last evening – via the Congress’ legislature party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan but Nitish Kumar, already upset by delays to seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha poll, was non-committal about his participation.

The Janata Dal (United) boss Nitish Kumar staying away from the Rahul Gandhi-led yatra means tension within the INDIA opposition bloc – formed amid fanfare in July last year to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP in the April/May Lok Sabha election – is now at uncomfortable high.

Nitish Kumar is widely seen as the man who made the INDIA bloc possible; the wily politician crisscrossed the country, meeting and convincing opposition leaders to work together to oust the BJP.

This latest (and potentially biggest) challenge comes a day after Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee all but cut ties with the bloc, insisting her Trinamool Congress will fight all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state under its own steam. Ominously, she also suggested she is reviewing her INDIA membership.

Ms Banerjee, who will not participate in the yatra either, ripped into the Congress this week, accusing the party of failing to observe common courtesy by notifying her when the procession entered her state.

Like Nitish Kumar, the fiery Trinamool boss has also criticised the Congress for dragging its feet over seat-sharing talks; the Congress reportedly wants 10-12 seats in Bengal but has been offered only two.

Ms Banerjee’s offer, sources have said, is based on the Congress’ abysmal performance in the past two general elections; in the 2014 poll the party won four seats and, five years, later won just two

The Congress, aware its INDIA bloc experiment is on the brink of collapse, reached out immediately.

Comms boss Jairam Ramesh, with Mr Gandhi and the yatra, insisted “all INDIA partners will unitedly fight Lok Sabha polls in Bengal”, and General Secretary KC Venugopal said, “There will be an alliance in Bengal… Mamata Banerjee is a serious leader in INDIA alliance. These are small differences.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in India to attend the Republic Day Parade tomorrow as its chief guest. He arrived in Jaipur this afternoon and will be joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a tour of heritage sites and a roadshow. Macron’s visit caps the 25th-anniversary celebrations of the India-France Strategic Partnership.

Here are the Live Updates on Macron’s India visit:

The INDIA bloc appears to be unravelling as a third key leader – Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar – is likely to change camp. Sources said it is likely that Mr Kumar, in a last-minute U-turn, will partner the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Over the last two days, two key leaders – Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal– have ruled out any alliance with the Congress in Bengal and Punjab.

For Mr Kumar, 72, this would be the fifth change in camp. Since 2013, he has been swinging between the NDA and the mahagathbandhan, all the while keeping his job in the state intact.  He switched sides last in 2022 – barely two years after he had walked out of the Grand Alliance and joined the NDA.

The signs have all been there over the last weeks, with Mr Kumar’s comments on dynastic politics and the subsequent retort from Lalu Yadav’s daughter expanding the rift. Yesterday, his lack of response to the Congress invite for Bharat Jodo Yatra, put a question mark on his appearance.  

The Bharat Ratna for former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur appears to have been a turning point scripted in advance.

Sources said Mr Kumar has been upset over the lack of clarity in INDIA bloc’s poll preparations and being passed over as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate. The delays to seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha polls had been a further aggravation.