'If Nitish is palturam, Modi-Shah are no different'

Janata Dal-United president Nitish Kumar's newly-formed alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party would unravel before the 2025 assembly polls in Bihar, political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor claimed on Sunday.

Kishor also claimed that the BJP could end up paying a "huge price" for realigning with Kumar, after declaring that its doors were shut for the leader by whom it was ditched less than 18 months ago.

"Nitish Kumar's volte-face is no surprise. I had been saying that he would not remain with the Mahagathbandhan ever since he had joined the combine," Kishor told reporters in Begusarai district of the state which he was touring as part of his 'Jan Suraaj' campaign.

"But today's development proves that if Nitish is palturam (weathercock), Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are no different. The BJP seems to have made a calculation in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. But it will pay a huge price in the assembly polls due next year," he said.

Kishore, who has worked closely in his professional capacity for both Modi and the JD-U supremo, said that the BJP will have a tough time explaining to its voters why it backed Kumar, despite having said that its doors were closed for him.

"I make another prediction and you can catch me if I am proven wrong. The alliance that has been formed will not last till the assembly polls. In fact, it may come apart within a few months of the Lok Sabha polls," he said.

He alleged, "The BJP is doing now what the Congress had done during RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's time. Both national parties have aligned with hugely unpopular regional leaders for small gains at the central level."

Kishor claimed that the 'Jan Suraaj' campaign is committed to putting an end to this "revolving door politics".

Kumar resigned as the chief minister of Bihar, saying "things were not working well" for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA, and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP.