Tussle with Nitish may force George to shift base

NEW DELHI: If the signals emanating from Bihar and Karnataka are taken as pointers, defence minister George Fernandes may shift his political base from Nalanda to Mangalore.
Indeed, the signals have been coming in loud and clear from both the places. The bulk of the Bihar unit of the Samata party continues to be up in arms against Fernandes.
The rebellious partymen in the state, who are now supporting Nitish Kumar, have refused to invite Fernandes for the state Samata executive meeting on January 19, making it clear he is no longer welcome in Bihar.
In fact, the defence minister is described by his adversaries as a ‘‘rootless wonder’’ who is winning elections only because of the all important support provided by Nitish.
Those who have been following Bihar politics closely know it for certain that Fernandes cannot win the Nalanda seat without Nitish’s support. Nalanda is a Kurmi-dominated constituency and Nitish is the unquestioned leader of the anti-Laloo, non-Yadav OBC forces.
Supporters of Nitish and Fernandes have been at loggerheads for the past six months or so.
The Fernandes group, which is led by state party president Raghunath Jha, did not invite Nitish for the NDA meeting in Patna on January 2. Nitish’s supporters want Jha removed from the party post.
On his part, Fernandes continues to support Jha, giving rise to speculation that he is preparing to shift out of Nalanda.
Political circles were not surprised when reports of Fernandes rediscovering his Mangalorean roots appeared in the press. According to these reports, the defence minister has of late been using one pretext or the other to be in Mangalore.