The latest speculation about his switch was triggered after the BJP awarded a Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, to former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur. Mr Thakur was an iconic socialist leader who was Chief Minister twice in the 1970s and is credited with implementing the state’s contentious alcohol prohibition policy. Still remembered today as ‘Jan Nayak’, or ‘leader of the people’, Karpoori Thakur’s legacy remains a valuable asset for political parties today.
