"In politics there are no enemies," said Jharkhand's onetime political supremo Sri Shibu Soren. In the 1970s and 1980s, the heydays of his newly formed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Party, Soren showed his vituperative anger against Bihari politicians who exploited the then South Bihar Adivasis. Gradually, he began to mellow down to become a 'seasoned' Indian politician like most others. He graduated to a marriage of convenience with parties of different and opposing ideologies and those he considered political pariahs. Thus began his political fence-jumping to Congress, RJD and the BJP, especially when he was hounded for criminal charges like bribery for voting.

Why should we blame Soren alone? Fence-sitting and jumping onto a convenient bandwagon have become ingrained in the political psyche of every party. The AAP party partners with one party in one state for elections while it puts up a candidate against the same party in another state. Come election time, abandoning one's party for not getting a ticket and taking refuge in another party searching for a greener pasture have become so vulgarly common. No party is averse to receiving fence jumpers or those who seek cosy bed fellowship.

The more revolting thing is the BJP's 'Operation Washing Machine, ' which magically wipes off every stain or dirt of political figures accused of criminal misconduct or corruption. Government watchdog agencies like ED, EC, Vigilance, and CBI's midnight knocks and terror-provoking actions send many a politician into the 'washing machine', whose reception desk is open 24/7. The latest one is our well-known 'Paltu Chacha' (U-turn Uncle) Nitish Kumar of Bihar, who makes the latest U-turn for jumping into the lap of his off-and-on rival, the BJP, nursing ambitions for a big piece of the cake post the 2024 election.

Nitish Kumar is known "for taking such U-turns in complete disregard for the people's mandate and morality to suit his political interests and nurture his ambitions." Under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Nitish was a Union minister between 1999 and 2004. In 2013, he opposed the BJP's decision to make Mr Modi the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 General Elections and walked out of the NDA alliance. In 2015, he formed a coalition government with his bitter rival, RJD's Lalu Prasad Yadav, whom he had once described as the 'Founder of the Jungle Raj in Bihar'. In 2017, he broke up with the RJD and joined his old partner and rival, the BJP, to form a new government. When Nitish had broken away from the BJP to join hands with RJD, Amit Shah thundered from the public rostrum: "I am saying here with full authority that the doors of the BJP are now closed for Nitish Kumar, and he will never be a part of the NDA in future."

As the opposition parties were gearing up to form a national alliance (Mahagathbandhan) in preparation for the national elections in 2024, Nitish was said to have been one of the planners and schemers. Then, he tasted sour grapes when TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee and AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal proposed Mallikarjun Kharge as the chief of the new Indian alliance. With that jolt to his ambitions, Nitish nursed an intense grudge. The grudge became an act of desertion as he rushed to New Delhi to bargain with the BJP for a top post in the proposed new Modi Ministry. In his heart of hearts, he had wished that Modi would forget what Nitish once said about him as not a fit candidate for Prime Ministership. Thereby, he hangs a tale with Nitish as he wags his tail to win a mega favour. Modi has enough compulsions to accommodate Nitish for the sake of forming the new government.

The Telugu Desam Party Chief Chandrababu Naidu's U-turns are equally infamous. He rushes to Delhi to be part of Modi's government, saying, "I am with the NDA, led by Modi." Remember, this is the same Naidu publicly insulted in April 2019 by Amit Shah, who described Naidu as "the biggest opportunist the country has ever seen." He told the people of Andhra Pradesh to throw him out of power. He publicly addressed this statement to Naidu in precisely the same words he used against Nitish: "Naidu, the doors of NDA have been closed permanently for you. We will not allow you to step in." Now, opportunists and rivals are embracing one another for the sake of opportunism. And Shah is eating his own words! This is Indian politics and more!

We are still waiting to see more dramatics and gimmicks. Just before the General Election of 2024, many switched sides; many deserted their mother parties, some literally ran away due to fear of criminal charges, and some revolted and ran away on denying the tickets. It was a mishmash of crisscross jumps and chameleon make-ups. How long will the Fevicol-found-fraternity stick is the million-dollar question!