The startling revolt from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader in Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar has certainly prompted the opposition leaders across the country to stay on high alert over a political split in their parties. As Ajit Pawar's rebellion was said to be directed by the BJP at a high time when the opposition parties have announced their united drive to contest against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, there have been swirling speculations about who will be the next target of the saffron camp. 

With such speculations, all eyes are on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who once an ally of BJP and toppled the party's power in his state. Nitish Kumar is the chief of Janata Dal United (JDU) and he recently hosted the first meeting of the opposition leaders in which they announced that they would contest unitedly in the general elections to oust the BJP regime. 

With a high alert, Nitish Kumar has rolled out measures to keep any such rebellions at bay by watching his party leaders more closely. In the wake of Ajit Pawar's rebellion in Maharashtra that came as a big blow to the NCP and the opposition parties, Nitish Kumar has called party legislators for a meeting in Patna and following the meeting, Nitish Kumar had also held tete-a-tete meeting with his party MPs to ensure that his partymen are staying in his ship. 

On what prompted Nitish Kumar's efforts to curb the rebellion in his state was a statement from Bihar's BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi. Sushil Kumar Modi is the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and he had said that Bihar will witness the next rebellion as the legislators and MPs within Nitish Kumar's party are unhappy. Speaking to Deccan Herald, Modi said, "JDU MLAs are unhappy over the manner in which Nitish Kumar backstabbed the BJP." 

"The legislators of both the parties had a natural relationship for the past 16 to 17 years. They are insecure about their future now", Modi added. On the other hand, BJP's Bihar chief Samrat Chaudhary said that the meetings within the JDU are a reflection of dissatisfaction within the ruling coalition in Bihar. Chaudhary further said, "These meetings that Nitish is holding with the lawmakers show that among the public, they are deeply unpopular." 

Responding to BJP's remarks, JDU's national spokesperson Rajib Ranjan has said that these statements are BJP's propaganda campaign and that there is no unrest in his party. Nitish Kumar's JDU was in the BJP alliance and he left the saffron party last year and aligned with Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). While Nitish Kumar remained the Chief Minister, Yadav's son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav became the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. 

As Nitish Kumar's rebellion against the BJP gave a national embarrassment to the latter, the saffron party is now threatening that Nitish Kumar's party will split. As Nitish Kumar is on a high alert, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav came down heavily on BJP and asserted that the alliance will be strong and united in Bihar. Yadav said, "PM Modi is robbing everyone. Buying MLAs has become common now. After Maharashtra, there are talks to break the alliance government in Bihar, but we will remain united."