Now, non-BJP parties will get more confident: Chidambaram

Non-BJP parties will get more confident that the saffron party can be defeated after its loss in Bihar, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Sunday.

He said while it is too early to say what impact the results will have on national politics, he said what is clear is non-BJP parties will begin to feel more confident that the BJP can be defeated despite the fact that it commands “enormous” resources, especially financial.

He said the Opposition will now feel that “BJP is not invincible” despite its enormous resources. “I am aware of the kind of resources deployed by the BJP in the Bihar elections,” he said. Asked if CM Nitish Kumar could be the rallying point for a Third Front against BJP, Chidambaram said he cannot speculate and it was too early to say what Kumar will do. “I think Nitish Kumar himself has learnt a few lessons. He will be happy to deliver on the agenda of development. I always found him to be a very sober and reasonable person," he said, adding whether he would like to shift to national politics or focus on Bihar it is all too early to say,” he said.

Asked about the possible fall out of Bihar results on the upcoming Winter session, he put the onus on the government saying that the Prime Minister still has time to “correct the course” and reach out to the Opposition. Chidambaram said if the attitude of the government to the Opposition parties changes in Lok Sabha, then it could also reflect in the Rajya Sabha.