Before last year's dramatic changes in Maharashtra were tipped to alter the direction of political discourse across the country, the Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad alliance's grand victory in the 2015 Bihar elections was termed as the beginning of the end of Narendra Modi-Amit Shah politics. But five years later, Modi remains the Prime Minister even more firmly, and in Bihar, the BJP has not only turned the tables on its rivals but also beaten its ally Nitish's JD(U) in a number game. Nitish, who quit Lalu's alliance to form a government with the BJP in 2017, has in the next three years conceded a considerable strength to the BJP, and yet he will be made the chief minister as fulfilment of a promise that fewer seats will not deny him the leadership. Parallels were drawn between Bihar and Maharashtra even in 2015 and they can be drawn even now.

Maharashtra model

In fact, the BJP has succeeded in implementing a Maharashtra model in Bihar where it has marginalised an ally who once was a big brother. But unlike Maharashtra, the BJP chose to keep the Bihar ally in good humour. In doing so, the BJP made the Sena claim credit for Nitish getting the throne, suggesting that the BJP feared Nitish may do a Thackeray by joining hands with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.