Close on the heels of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rolling out the red carpet for former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who switched sides to the Congress after being denied a ticket ahead of the state assembly polls last year, the party is gearing for the possible return of another ally-turned-opponent, Nitish Kumar, according to several leaders aware of the developments.

Even as the framework of a possible reunion with the Janata Dal (United) is being drawn out — amid uncertainty of Nitish’s next move after a tussle with his alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal — BJP functionaries in the state indicate they are expecting more leaders, particularly from the Congress, coming on board ahead of the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “There is a possibility of more parties joining the NDA and even prominent leaders switching sides,” said a senior party leader.

The RJD has 79 seats, BJP 78 and JD(U) 45 in the 243-member Bihar assembly.

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The BJP, which has set itself the target of bagging its highest-ever tally in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls — surpassing the 303 achieved in 2019 — is also open to alliances, even if means burying the hatchet with parties such as Kumar’s JD(U). The two parted on a bitter note in 2022, and have since traded barbs on policy matters such as caste census and over accusations of poor governance.

In 2013, too, the JD(U) walked out of the NDA protesting Narendra Modi’s prime ministerial candidacy, only to rejoin in 2017.

Declining to comment on Kumar’s flip flops, the leader quoted above said the party has always “kept its doors open” and is not averse to re-inking pacts with parties it parted ways with.

“The JD(U) coming back into the NDA (BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) fold will be a shot in the arm for the BJP, because it shows how weak the opposition’s coalition against the NDA is. It also affirms what the BJP has been saying — that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership has put the party in the pole position…” the functionary said.

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BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and the former deputy CM of Bihar, Sushil Modi, told reporters in Bihar that the BJP has not shut its doors on anyone. “We are keeping an eye on all the developments and if needed an appropriate decision will be taken. No door is permanently closed in politics and the door can be opened if needed,” he said.

Getting former and newer allies on board will help the BJP shore its numbers and act as a bulwark against the INDIA coalition, even though the alliance of opposition leaders is beginning to show signs of strain, the leaders said.

Since 2018, the NDA has seen the exits of some formidable allies. The Telegu Desam Party (TDP) was the first to walk in 2018, followed by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) after the BJP withdrew from the coalition government in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir. The Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab left 2019 and 2020 respectively. The BJP in its defence, said the party kept its end of the bargain, including giving Cabinet berths, but the allies still chose to walk out.

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Accused of playing “big brother” and not accommodating the wishes of allies, such as not taking the SAD on board before drafting the now-repealed farm laws, the BJP added new allies such as the AIADMK, JDS, and the Jana Sena in the southern states; a faction of Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and a faction of the NCP led by Ajit Pawar in Maharashtra; and the Jannayak Janata Party in Haryana over the last few years. There is also speculation now that the TDP could rejoin the NDA, although neither side has made a statement yet.

The BJP is also hoping to bring on board vote-catchers from its former allies to increase its tally in Maharashtra and Punjab, and in Karnataka where it lost the state polls last year. There is speculation that in Karnataka, where the party wants to win all 28 Lok Sabha seats despite being in opposition, leaders including former state minister Laxman Savadi and mining baron and ex-minister G Janardhana Reddy, might make a return. Both leaders quit the party ahead of last year’s elections.

In this backdrop, the BJP’s possible reunion with the JD(U) is seen internally as a politically expedient move that could have a favourable impact both in the 2024 polls and in the state elections a year later. “Caste is key to winning elections in a state such as Bihar. While there is a perceptible change in how voters respond to development, there is no denying the enormity of caste calculations. Even in 2020, our alliance won 125 seats (of the 243) despite pundits predicting otherwise,” said a second leader who asked not to be named.