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Nitish Kumar: The fall and fall of the poster boy of Indian politics

By Amulya Ganguli | PUBLISHED: 11, Nov 2017, 19:57 pm IST | UPDATED: 12, Nov 2017, 14:55 pm IST

Nitish Kumar: The fall and fall of the poster boy of Indian politics New Delhi: At one time, he was the poster boy of Indian politics. Not only did he slay the villain of Bihar's "jungle raj" in 2005 by rounding up lawless elements after winning an election and launching social and economic development projects, he also scored another resounding electoral victory in the company of a new set of friends, including the "villain", in 2015.

It appeared at the time that he could do no wrong. So much so that he was seen as a possible prime ministerial candidate of the "secular" front.

But, then, the rise and rise of Nitish Kumar came to an abrupt halt. He remains Bihar's Chief Minister, but the halo round his head has frayed.

The reason is not only his switching of friends in what is seen as an exercise in crass opportunism, but also his pursuit of policies which are out of sync with the modern world and threatens to reinforce Bihar's reputation for backwardness by turning the entire state into a virtual dehat or village.

The first step in this bucolic direction was the imposition of prohibition which has robbed Bihar's clubs, hotels and intellectual watering holes of cosmopolitanism. Now, Nitish Kumar has taken yet another step backwards by demanding 50 per cent reservations for the backward castes in the private sector.






He merely wants to impress his targeted audience by showing that he did make an honest effort, but was stymied by the "system".

Whether it is prohibition or reservations, Nitish Kumar's ploys tend to underline crafty political manoeuvres rather than any genuine intention of acting in the state's interest.


Since Nitish Kumar belongs to a numerically small and politically less influential caste -- the Kurmis -- than the RJD's powerful Yadavs, he has never been at ease in Lalu Prasad's company whether at the time of their camaraderie during Jayaprakash Narayan's anti-Congress movement or when they were a part of the state government after the 2015 election victory.

The focal point of Nitish Kumar's political career has been to establish himself as the foremost leader in the state. Lalu Prasad's conviction in the fodder scam case enabled Nitish Kumar to be the No. 1 in the Janata Dal (United)-RJD-Congress government.





When Bhagwat expressed his views during the 2015 election campaign, the BJP quickly distanced itself from them for fear of losing the backward caste and Dalit votes. Even then, the BJP's reputation as a brahmin-bania party remains intact. Besides, it is now more focused on playing the nationalist card than on wooing the backward castes.


But, whatever his intention, Nitish Kumar cannot but be aware that his position is much weaker now than when he was in the "secular" camp. Nor is there any chance that he will regain his earlier status any time in the near future.