Patna: In the fresh controversy over Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s coalition loyalties that began four days ago, it appears that Harivansh, the man at the centre of the furore, has been the only person in the state’s political circles to say absolutely nothing about it.The controversy began on October 22 when election strategist turned political activist Prashant Kishor claimed in a video statement that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was “in touch” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prashant based his argument on the fact that Harivansh, a member of Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], has remained in his position as the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha even after the JD(U) quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition this August.“Nitishji can go back to the BJP. He has kept a channel to the BJP open through Harivansh. If not, how does Harivansh continue as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman?” Kishor said from Bihar’s Champaran region while on a padayatra (foot march) through the state.Fuel to the fireKishor was perhaps responding to a statement that Nitish had made a week earlier, on October 15, that he would never return to the BJP as long as he lived.In turn, Jitan Ram Manjhi, president of the Hindustan Awam Morcha, former chief minister of Bihar and current member of the NDA in the state, responded to Kishor’s claim by making a vague statement about Nitish’s loyalties.“I don’t think that Nitishji is, as of now, thinking in terms of returning to the BJP. But we will welcome him if he does so,” Manjhi said.The BJP’s spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain added fuel to the fire when he quoted an Urdu verse that roughly translates to: “We were full of gratitude for him, but he [Nitish] was looking for an ungrateful companion.”When Nitish was asked to comment on Kishor’s claim, he strongly denied it, suggesting to the reporters that his former poll strategist was not perhaps the most credible of people.“Look at the conduct of the man [Kishor] whom we loved and respected so much. It’s an irony that the people we loved and respected are playing dirty games,” Nitish said.However, despite the chief minister’s categorical denial of Kishor’s claim, several news channels began speculating about Nitish’s possible return to the BJP fold. This speculation continues even now, probably fuelled by the fact that Harivansh has not said a word about it.Centre of the stormWhen I texted a direct question to Harivansh about how he continues to occupy the position of deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha when his party snapped ties with the NDA months ago, he did not respond.But top sources in the JD(U) told me that Harivansh occupies this position against the wishes of the party leadership and that it is Harivansh, rather than Kishor, who has betrayed Nitish’s trust.“Nitishji and the rest of us expected Harivansh to resign as soon the JD(U) snapped ties with the BJP,” said a source close to Nitish. “Had he done so, it would have added more credence to the JD(U)’s campaign against the BJP. But he acted in a manner Nitishji had never expected of him.”Kanhaiya Bhelari, a senior journalist based in Patna, believes that by now, Harivansh is more of a BJP member than JD(U).“Harivansh’s body is in the JD(U) but his soul has migrated to the BJP. Narendra Modi has entered his soul,” Bhelari said.Former Bihar deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was more politically correct. “The BJP won’t take him [Nitish] back even if he tries to return,” he said, avoiding the topic of Harivansh.However, sources close to Sushil Modi denied that the Bihar CM has kept a channel to the BJP open through Harivansh.Several sources in the JD(U) said that when Prashant made his claim, it was as a player in the state’s politics rather than as a political observer.Prashant, who is about to float his own political party in Bihar, has apparently decided to target Nitish and Lalu Prasad Yadav to attract the attention of the media and create space for his new party.Meanwhile, Harivansh’s sympathisers state that there is nothing at all controversial about him not resigning from his Rajya Sabha position, arguing that a precedent had been set by the late Somnath Chatterjee – who had cited his constitutional obligations to continue in his role as the speaker of the Lok Sabha even when his party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance I.However, the Bihar unit of the CPI(M) is unimpressed with this defence of Harivansh.“Chatterjee, a veteran parliamentarian for nine terms and a leader of impeccable integrity, had publicly stated that he would not quit as the speaker, citing his constitutional obligations. The CPI(M) expelled him. However, after his term ended, Chatterjee never looked for an opportunity beyond the CPI(M). He retired when his Lok Sabha term ended and died a Marxist,” said a senior leader of the Bihar CPI(M) – which is also part of the Mahagathbandhan.Also Read: Why Lalu and Nitish Believe Opposition Unity Is Incomplete Without CongressParty turncoat?Asked why the JD(U) leadership did not take action against Harivansh, a senior party leader who preferred to remain anonymous said, “We expected him to resign on his own. But he didn’t even turn up at the meetings that the chief minister had called to consult his party leaders ahead of leaving the NDA. Now the party will take action against him at the appropriate time.”The same leader also confided, “Nitishji was very pained by Harivansh’s conduct. After all, he had made him a member of parliament twice. Nitish never imagined that Harivansh would break trust with him in such a manner.”Nitish had nominated Harivansh to the Rajya Sabha in 2014, when the latter was an editor with the Ranchi-based Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar. Harivansh, who had worked as the press adviser of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, had been known to espouse liberal, secular and democratic values. He had proactively supported Nitish when the latter snapped ties with the BJP in 2015.However, after he became the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in 2018, it was learnt that Harivansh had become close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah. He had been severely criticised in September 2020 when he allowed the BJP to pass the three controversial farm bills in the Rajya Sabha in a surreptitious manne. And when the farmers’ stir of 2020-2021 intensified and the JD(U) spokesperson K.C. Tyagi expressed the party’s solidarity with the farmers, Harivansh remained quiet.Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh. Photo: PTIRJD supportThe most discernible feature of the alliance of seven parties in Bihar is the unalloyed support of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the largest party in the state, to Nitish.It is abundantly clear that the state’s deputy chief minister, the RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, is fully in sync with Nitish. Tejashwi’s father, Lalu Prasad Yadav, in an exclusive interview with me ahead of his party’s national council meeting in New Delhi, had said, “Nitish is the appropriate leader to unite the opposition parties against the BJP. He is doing good work.”Sources in the Mahagathbandhan said that Nitish is focused on two things only: governance in Bihar and the unity of opposition parties around the country.In the state, the government is working hard to reduce unemployment. Recently, Nitish and Tejashwi ceremonially handed appointment letters to 9,469 young people who had been employed at different levels in the health department headed by Tejashwi. Nitish also monitored the shortage of rainfall in the state and allotted Rs 3,500 to each drought-affected family in 7,841 revenue villages across Bihar.As for uniting the opposition, Nitish has already had meetings with several non-BJP parties. According to sources close to him, he will soon begin to consult with these parties to create what he refers to as the United Front against the BJP.Nalin Verma is a senior journalist, author and professor of journalism and mass communication at Invertis University, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.