NEW DELHI: The first session of the newly elected Bihar Assembly, scheduled to begin on December 1, is set to open under the cloud of a fresh tussle between alliance partners BJP and JDU, as both parties remain deadlocked over the crucial post of Speaker.
The standoff intensified after the JDU proposed the name of senior leader and four-time MLA Damodar Rawat as its choice for Speaker. This comes in direct conflict with the BJP’s earlier announcement backing Prem Kumar, one of the party’s most experienced Dalit leaders and an eight-time MLA, for the same post.
According to insiders in both parties, discussions are ongoing but no breakthrough has been achieved yet. Leaders involved in the negotiations admit that the issue has become symbolic of a larger trust deficit that has been growing within the alliance.
The friction reportedly began soon after government formation, when the Home Department—a portfolio Nitish Kumar had held for nearly two decades—was allocated to the BJP. JDU leaders view the move as an unexpected assertion of dominance, while BJP strategists argue that the distribution of portfolios reflects “power parity” in the new coalition arrangement.
With the opening session now just days away, both parties are scrambling to avoid a confrontation on the Assembly floor. Senior leaders from the BJP and JDU are said to be exploring a “mutually face-saving formula,” though nothing concrete has emerged.
If the deadlock continues, the election of the Speaker—typically a routine procedural affair—may turn into the first major political flashpoint of the new government. For now, all eyes are on whether the two alliance partners can bridge their widening gap before the Assembly convenes on December 1.
(Writer is Senior Journalist and Political Commentator)
