The performance of the BJP in the Bihar Assembly elections was no less than dramatic even surprising many in the party. The phenomenal strike rate - winning 91 out of the 102 seats it had contested - not just elated the BJP,but there are indications that the party,which has all along been a submissive junior partner to the JD(U) could flex its muscles. The increased tally of the BJP could have a bearing on its equations with the JD(U),which has often been accused of arm-twisting its partner. Sources in the party point out that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may not be in a position to dictate terms any more and argue that the BJP has finally come out of his shadow and proved that it too existed in the state. Naturally we will try to assert more. With increased tally comes increased assertiveness, a leader from Bihar put in bluntly. The immediate worry for Kumar,however,could be formation of the Cabinet. Some of the BJP leaders from Bihar clearly indicated that the party could ask for more ministerial berths and some change in portfolios. It presently has 11 ministers. Certainly,the ratio would change since the seat ratio has also changed, a senior leader said. We have convincingly proved that we exist despite the fact that the election was projected as a Nitish affair. The political pundits who had claimed that the BJP was nowhere to be seen in the campaign scene have been proved wrong, another leader said. Nitish is restless,he added. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley,however,said he saw no difficulty as far as allocation of ministerial berths are concerned. While the BJP lavished praise on the chief minister pointing out that under his leadership the NDA government altered the political agenda of Bihar many in the party were of the view it should and would play a more active role and ensure that adequate checks and balances are in place. We cannot sit back and let Nitish run the show now, a BJP leader said. Party leaders pointed out that the BJP managed to draw upper caste and Vaishya votes en masse despite the perception among the upper caste voters about Nitish. This shows that our core vote bank is intact despite our association with Nitish. We managed to transfer our vote bank to JD(U) as well. Besides,it has become clear that the Muslim vote bank had a three-way split and we too got a share.
