U-turn babu: The politics of being Nitish Kumar

NEW DELHI: What can higher describe the politics of being Nitish Kumar than newspaper headlines that referred to him as “The Former & Future CM of Bihar”? One other social media meme refers to him as somebody who resigns from his job solely when he has an Supply Letter in his pocket. However the adroitness with which the eight-term Chief Minister does this trapeze act, guaranteeing that he at all times lands within the CM’s chair shows a pointy survival intuition that focuses on the top, fairly than the means.
Nitish was not at all times so pragmatic. Idealism was very a lot part of his politics when he joined the socialist motion, was jailed throughout the Emergency and even did enterprise with the communists for a quick whereas. He was married younger however didn’t take a dowry and even after he turned CM his household stayed again within the village. His first few stints as Chief Minister earned him the sobriquet of Sushashan Babu (Good Governance Man) as he was a eager administrator and knew learn how to get the forms to work. Furthermore, his tenure in workplace adopted the breakdown of regulation and order underneath Lalu Yadav’s misrule and was welcomed as a breath of contemporary air within the state, particularly when the roads started to get constructed and light-weight bulbs really got here on. Nitish’s scheme of distributing cycles to high school women has been copied throughout India.
Then the place did he go improper? Although that’s maybe not the correct query for Nitish shouldn’t be the primary, nor the final politician to compromise with ideology for energy, so why single him out. The principle query right now is: The place will his newest U-turn take him? Actually, he’s again within the CM’s chair however maybe that’s now not his purpose. The present Bihar Chief Minister’s goals appear to have taken on a nationwide hue, and why not. The Opposition lacks a Prime Ministerial face to tackle Narendra Modi. The Gandhis don’t make the reduce, Mamata Banerjee and KCR actually have ambitions however lack enchantment outdoors their dwelling state. At the least Nitish has a pan North India enchantment, and will sway the migrant Bihari vote in states outdoors the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. There’s additionally the inter-state rivalry within the Hindi heartland which has seen many PMs from Uttar Pradesh however none from Bihar. Plus Nitish is Hindi talking and that could be a large benefit. I recall what Pranab Mukherjee as soon as advised me in an interview: “I’ll by no means be the PM as a result of my Hindi shouldn’t be ok.” Sadly for her, Mamata Banerjee has the identical drawback and her enchantment will probably be restricted to West Bengal. She tried her luck within the current elections in Goa and Manipur however was unable to make a dent. KCR too lacks a base in North India, some would say that his enchantment is restricted to Telangana alone and doesn’t even prolong to Andhra. As for Sharad Pawar, the perennial PM Face in Ready, he’s now too previous. Plus he has well being points. The opposite candidate is Arvind Kejriwal, who has made no secret of his nationwide ambitions, which have been renewed after the Punjab win. Plus his social gathering is making regular good points in different states as nicely, from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat, to faraway Jammu. Kejriwal actually will do his greatest to emerge as a substitute for Modi, however his abrasive politics has made him few associates, even throughout the Opposition.
This brings us again to Nitish Kumar’s audacious gambit. He actually has the expertise to present a difficult counter narrative to Modi—from welfare politics to improvement. In truth, their politics are very related. Take as an illustration the way in which Modi has particular schemes focused for the ladies vote, so does Nitish—from prohibition to bikes for college women. And simply as you can’t fault Modi on corruption neither can u goal Nitish. For one, just like the Prime Minister he additionally stays away from his household. His son Nishant doesn’t stay with the CM and doesn’t dabble in politics. Little or no is understood in regards to the CM’s 4 siblings who additionally steer clear of the perks of energy. Simply as the general public doesn’t query the PM’s integrity (regardless of Rahul Gandhi’s slogan of Chowkidar Chor Hai) the general public additionally believes in Nitish’s neeyat (credibility). Nitish positively has extra associates throughout the Opposition than the AAP chief. Like Modi, he’s additionally not a dynast however a self-made politician who rose from the ranks.
However there’s a catch. The Nitish of 2022 shouldn’t be the identical because the Nitish of 2013 when he took on Narendra Modi and broke away from the BJP. His personal enchantment within the state can also be declining as is obvious from the JD(U)’s seat tally, which has been falling steadily. The JD(U) at present has 43 seats within the Meeting when in 2015 it had 71. The social gathering had peaked within the 2010 state polls when it received 115 of the 141 it contested together with the BJP. Since then it has been downhill for the JD(U), whether or not Nitish fought together with Modi or in opposition to him. The wily chief is aware of that he’s now getting into the final leg of his political profession for whereas Tejashwi Yadav is content material to play deputy to his CM-ship for now, he is not going to be so keen in just a few years’ time and can most likely be contesting the following state polls as a CM face. At present the RJD is the one largest social gathering within the state. So in on the lookout for a nationwide position for himself, the Sultan of Swing is being pragmatic—and never simply bold.