Nitish Kumar’s core EBC voters miffed at latest U-turn in Bihar, but root for Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha poll

Nalanda Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar's return to the BJP-led NDA in Bihar has upset his core vote bank, the EBCs, but they still support PM Modi and the NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar’s latest U-turn of returning to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar has not gone down well with the members of his core vote bank — the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) — but in the run-up to the Lok Sabha election, they unequivocally expressed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA’s return to power at the Centre.

Though Mr. Kumar has retained the loyalty of the Kurmis, the OBC community that he hails from in Nalanda district, EBCs in Assembly constituencies on his home turf aired their grievances against the JD(U) chief as well as the BJP, which extended support to him to become the Chief Minister for the ninth time on January 28.

According to the Bihar government’s recent caste-based survey, the EBCs account for 36% of the State’s population. In the past, this large chunk of voters has remained loyal to Mr. Kumar, allowing him to remain in power for 18 years.

Dinesh Thakur, 45, a resident of Kurmiya Bigha village, who hails from the Nai (barber) community, which falls under the EBC category, in the Hilsa Assembly constituency said even though the BJP has a hand in Mr. Kumar severing ties with the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Left parties, he will vote for Mr. Modi in the general election.

Expressing his anger at the JD(U) chief, Mr. Thakur said he should not have formed another alliance. “People lose their character through frequent flip-flops. Nitishji knew everything about the RJD before tying up with it. No doubt that he has done a lot of work to improve roads and power supply, but this U-turn was not expected from him,” he said.

In the Islampur constituency, 30 km away, Kailash Thakur, 60, a member of the Nai community in Korawan village, said he has sympathy for RJD leader and former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, but there is no alternative to Mr. Kumar and the BJP in Bihar.

“Nitish did excellent work in his first and second terms, and brought a turnaround on every front. His downfall began in the third term when Modiji became the Prime Minister. He has not been able to forge a stable alliance since then and kept on oscillating like a pendulum. But we don’t have an option other than Nitishji and BJP. We sympathise with Tejashwi, but we want Modiji at the Centre,” he said.