One can not forget the fact that Advani decided to launch his Yatra against corruption in 2011 from Sitabdiara in Bihar and it was Nitish Kumar who flagged off Advani's Rath.
It should be recalled that Advani's Yatra was to originally start from Gujarat but he changed the location at the eleventh hour.
His critics interpreted it as a result of his discomfiture with Modi's growing appeal as BJP's prospective PM candidate in 2014.
Despite all these reasons, it's not easy for Nitish Kumar to break off alliance with BJP. He knows that in absence of BJP's support, he cannot take on Lalu-Ramvilas in Bihar.
The state and central leadership of BJP is also fully aware of the ground realities and Nitish Kumar's constraints and that's why this time they seem to be in no hurry.
They know that even Nitish has very limited options and he will think ten times before actually breaking the alliance.
The BJP may find a face saving formula for both – BJP will not officially declare its PM candidate and will continue to project Modi as its most popular leader while Nitish Kumar led JD(U) will continue to harp on a secular PM candidate.
Once the ballots are out, everything will depend on numbers because in a democracy every decision is subject to the number game that can only be played on the floor of the house.
