BJP intensifies appeasement efforts as threat of split with JD(U) looms

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yet again indicated its desire to keep the National Democratic Alliance intact by saying that it wished for continued support from bitter ally Janata Dal (United). The statement by Bihar BJP chief Mangal Pandey came hours after it was claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had declared the alliance "untenable".

JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, however, is still walking a tightrope. He refuses to make any statement on the JD(U)'s official position, keeping all his responses safely vague. "The alliance is there. We are trying to mend the ties. Not me, but (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee had spoken about the Federal Front. I won't say anything on this issue," Yadav said, when asked what his party thought of the Third Front.

The Bihar BJP chief, Mangal Pandey, meanwhile, said that party president Rajnath Singh will visit the state on June 23 and will discuss all the recent developments. "We want the alliance to continue. We want it to be strong," he said.

The ties between the JD(U) and the BJP hit an all-time low ever since Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was made the party's poll campaign chief for 2014. JD(U) has openly voiced its opposition to the growing stature of Modi within the party. Following the resignation from all posts by BJP patriarch LK Advani, the JD(U) had said that the alliance was on "ventilator support".

The BJP, however, has been continuing its efforts to placate its miffed partner. On Thursday, it rushed former party president Nitin Gadkari to hold talks with Yadav. A day ago, Advani had himself taken the cudgels to reach out to Nitish and Yadav.

While BJP insists its alliance is safe, sources say that it is only a matter of time before the split happens.

Sensing his opportunity, Nitish has even renewed his demands for a special category status to Bihar. The Congress knows his support to it depends to a large extent on it.

The Bihar CM has also begun talks with his West Bengal and Odisha counterparts, Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik on the Third Front.