Patna: The overall poll scene in Bihar has turned quite interesting this time. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who once took extra care not to name Narendra Modi in his speeches and sought votes for candidates on his personal image is now hugely banking on the Prime Minister, apparently finding that his own charisma is not working anymore.
But this time the scene is entirely different. Instead of rattling out achievements of his own government and highlighting his governance model in the state, the chief minister has, instead, gone on heaping praises on Modi — especially for his act of how the PM allowed the Indian Air Force to carry out air strike against the terror camps deep inside Pakistan in retaliation to Pulwama terror attacks in Kashmir.
Not only this, the chief minister is also repeatedly telling the masses how the Modi government’s initiates such as National Health Protection Scheme or Medicare, giving LPG connections to the poor and his initiative for giving Rs6,000 per year as minimum income support to small and marginal farmers have brought miraculous changes in the life of the masses. In a way, the chief minister has turned out to be one of the promoters of “Brand Modi” this time at his every rally that he addresses in Bihar.
“The way PM Modi has acted against the terrorism has boosted the morale of the countrymen. India’s prestige has gone up under his leadership,” Kumar repeats this at his every rally in Bihar. He doesn’t forget to mention the fact that how Modi’s initiatives have brought “tremendous changes” in the life of the common men and how Modi is necessary for the national security.
Experts say the chief minister turned to Modi for his political survival as his own charisma has faded fast as the common masses are just not ready to hear his “preaching” on governance. According to them, Kumar’s frequent moves to change political allies after winning elections with their support has destroyed his credibility quite much and the masses don’t trust him anymore.
“The peculiar transformation highlights the fast shrinking political ground of Nitish Kumar. It is a pity to see the man promoting Brand Modi this time. He even refrained from mentioning Modi’s name in his speeches once,” commented political expert DM Diwakar.
Observers say what has demolished the credibility of Kumar was his move to form his government with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which had got the mandate to sit in the opposition. As such, the chief minister had won the last 2015 state elections in alliance with Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress but barely two years in power, he broke alliance with the RJD and formed government with the BJP against whom he had won elections.
According to experts, this is quite damaging for Indian politics and if that continued in future, it will weaken democracy. Even his own party official has publicly questioned Kumar’s method of dumping the allies with whose support he had won elections and then forming government with an opposition party without seeking a fresh mandate, much to the embarrassment of the chief minister who heads the Janata Dal United (JD-U).
“Keeping in view the interests of Bihar, I think it (Kumar’s return to the NDA) was OK. But I do not agree with the method adopted. I have said this earlier and I still hold the view, upon taking the decision to return to the BJP-led coalition, he should have ideally sought fresh mandate,” JD-U vice-president and poll strategist Prashant Kishor has said.
He also has described Kumar’s move to return to the BJP camp a big setback for the masses who once backed him wholeheartedly for taking on mighty Modi. “For those who saw in him (Kumar) a potential challenger to (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, the move was a let-down,” Kishor added.
Under this background, Kumar’s move to seek votes for his party candidates on the achievements of Modi indeed sounds strange. As such, this was the same Kumar who had once put undeclared ban on entry of Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, to Bihar and never allowed the latter to campaign for NDA candidates in his state, fearing Modi’s hard-core Hindutva image could badly disturb his minority votes.
He even had cancelled the dinner hosted in honour of visiting BJP leaders in Bihar who had congregated in Patna to attend party’s meeting in May 2014 barely after the saffron camp had given an advertisement in local newspapers which showed the Bihar chief minister shaking hands with Modi. He reacted further by returning Rs50 million donation the Gujarat government had rushed for the 2008 Kosi flood disaster victims. Given this background, Kumar’s move to promote “Brand Modi” indeed looks puzzling.
