Nitish Kumar: Running sturdy regardless of twists and turns
7 min readBy Agencies
The longest-serving chief minister of any Hindi- talking state, Nitish Kumar appears to have acquired an aura of indispensability with regards to the best seat of energy in Bihar.
A artful politician, he stored the BJP guessing until the eleventh hour earlier than severing ties with the ally, following unanimous sentiments in his JD(U) that it was to be blamed for the occasion’s dwindling fortunes.
Kumar then clinched a brand new deal very quickly with the opposition which, bereft of energy and coherence, welcomed him with open arms.
In a political profession spanning 4 many years, Kumar, 71, has stored at bay taints of corruption, nepotism and misgovernance, leaving critics with little besides opportunism as a keep on with be overwhelmed with.
Born on March 1, 1951 in Bakhtiyarpur, a nondescript city on the outskirts of Patna, to an Ayurvedic practitioner-cum-freedom fighter father, Kumar is {an electrical} engineer by coaching.
During his days on the Bihar Engineering College, now often called NIT, Patna, he grew to become energetic in pupil politics and bought related to the JP motion’, which launched him to a lot of his future associates, together with Lalu Prasad and Sushil Kumar Modi.
His first electoral success got here within the 1985 meeting elections, which the Congress swept although he managed to win the Harnaut seat for Lok Dal.
Five years later, he moved to Delhi as an MP from the now- abolished seat of Barh.
ALSO READ | Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM, Tejashwi his deputy
After one other half a decade, when the Mandal wave was at its peak and Prasad was reaping its dividends, Kumar sided with George Fernandes to drift the Samata Party, which might later morph into the JD(U) and share energy with BJP on the Centre and, 2005 onwards, within the state.
His first 5 years as chief minister are recalled with admiration even by critics, marked by huge enhancements in restoration of regulation and order in a state that made headlines for massacres by rivalling militias and kidnappings for ransom.
A product of the Mandal churn, the Kurmi chief additionally realised that he didn’t have the benefit of belonging to a populous caste group and created sub-quotas amongst OBCs and Dalits, who have been known as Ati Pichhda’ (EBC) and Mahadalits, which was resented by the dominant Yadavs and Dusadhs (supporters of Ram Vilas Paswan).
He additionally gave patronage to Pasmanda Muslims which, moreover his capacity to maintain Hindutva vigilantes in test, endeared him to the minority neighborhood regardless of an previous alliance with the BJP.
ALSO READ | Nitish was uncomfortable with BJP, claims Prashan Kishor
Kumar introduced in measures like free bicycles and college uniforms for school-going ladies, which received him a lot adulation and the exuberant public temper noticed him returning to energy in 2010, main the JD(U)-BJP coalition with a landslide victory in meeting polls.
The interval, nevertheless, additionally noticed the top of the Atal-Advani period in BJP and Kumar ended up locking horns with Narendra Modi, then his Gujarat counterpart whom he by no means allowed to marketing campaign in Bihar, and snapped ties with the saffron occasion in 2013.
He survived in energy because the JD(U) was formidably positioned within the meeting, however stepped down in 2014, proudly owning ethical accountability for the occasion’s drubbing within the Lok Sabha elections, whereby it returned with a dismal tally of simply two seats.
In lower than a 12 months, he was again as chief minister, elbowing out his rebellious protege Jitan Ram Manjhi with ample assist from the RJD and the Congress and got here to be seen, nationally, as a possible challenger to the Modi juggernaut.
The Grand Alliance that got here into being with JD(U), Congress and RJD coming collectively, received the 2015 meeting polls handsomely, however got here aside in simply two years.
ALSO READ | ‘Sushasan Babu’ or ‘Paltu Ram’? Meet Nitish Kumar, grasp of the artwork of adjusting governments
Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, hoping to get some traction by advantage of taking a stand in opposition to corruption taint on his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
His tie-up with the BJP, now in energy on the Centre with a brute majority, proved to be electorally profitable although his personal stature appeared to decrease, as evident from the 2020 meeting ballot outcomes during which the JD(U) may win beneath 45 seats within the 243-strong House.
The BJP’s aggressive model, looking for to conquer adversaries and gobble up allies, seems to have gotten the goat of Kumar, who now appears to have determined that he’s higher off along with his former allies who confirmed restricted ambition.
Whether frequent floor along with his new allies with regard to communalism and social justice shall be sturdy sufficient a glue to carry the coalition collectively shall be recognized within the days to return.
Cynics might view the transfer as a survival tactic on his half, however Kumar’s parting methods with the BJP has held out the promise of infusing contemporary vigour within the dispirited opposition within the nation.
The longest-serving chief minister of any Hindi- talking state, Nitish Kumar appears to have acquired an aura of indispensability with regards to the best seat of energy in Bihar.
A artful politician, he stored the BJP guessing until the eleventh hour earlier than severing ties with the ally, following unanimous sentiments in his JD(U) that it was to be blamed for the occasion’s dwindling fortunes.
Kumar then clinched a brand new deal very quickly with the opposition which, bereft of energy and coherence, welcomed him with open arms.
In a political profession spanning 4 many years, Kumar, 71, has stored at bay taints of corruption, nepotism and misgovernance, leaving critics with little besides opportunism as a keep on with be overwhelmed with.
Born on March 1, 1951 in Bakhtiyarpur, a nondescript city on the outskirts of Patna, to an Ayurvedic practitioner-cum-freedom fighter father, Kumar is {an electrical} engineer by coaching.
During his days on the Bihar Engineering College, now often called NIT, Patna, he grew to become energetic in pupil politics and bought related to the JP motion’, which launched him to a lot of his future associates, together with Lalu Prasad and Sushil Kumar Modi.
His first electoral success got here within the 1985 meeting elections, which the Congress swept although he managed to win the Harnaut seat for Lok Dal.
Five years later, he moved to Delhi as an MP from the now- abolished seat of Barh.
ALSO READ | Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM, Tejashwi his deputy
After one other half a decade, when the Mandal wave was at its peak and Prasad was reaping its dividends, Kumar sided with George Fernandes to drift the Samata Party, which might later morph into the JD(U) and share energy with BJP on the Centre and, 2005 onwards, within the state.
His first 5 years as chief minister are recalled with admiration even by critics, marked by huge enhancements in restoration of regulation and order in a state that made headlines for massacres by rivalling militias and kidnappings for ransom.
A product of the Mandal churn, the Kurmi chief additionally realised that he didn’t have the benefit of belonging to a populous caste group and created sub-quotas amongst OBCs and Dalits, who have been known as Ati Pichhda’ (EBC) and Mahadalits, which was resented by the dominant Yadavs and Dusadhs (supporters of Ram Vilas Paswan).
He additionally gave patronage to Pasmanda Muslims which, moreover his capacity to maintain Hindutva vigilantes in test, endeared him to the minority neighborhood regardless of an previous alliance with the BJP.
ALSO READ | Nitish was uncomfortable with BJP, claims Prashan Kishor
Kumar introduced in measures like free bicycles and college uniforms for school-going ladies, which received him a lot adulation and the exuberant public temper noticed him returning to energy in 2010, main the JD(U)-BJP coalition with a landslide victory in meeting polls.
The interval, nevertheless, additionally noticed the top of the Atal-Advani period in BJP and Kumar ended up locking horns with Narendra Modi, then his Gujarat counterpart whom he by no means allowed to marketing campaign in Bihar, and snapped ties with the saffron occasion in 2013.
He survived in energy because the JD(U) was formidably positioned within the meeting, however stepped down in 2014, proudly owning ethical accountability for the occasion’s drubbing within the Lok Sabha elections, whereby it returned with a dismal tally of simply two seats.
In lower than a 12 months, he was again as chief minister, elbowing out his rebellious protege Jitan Ram Manjhi with ample assist from the RJD and the Congress and got here to be seen, nationally, as a possible challenger to the Modi juggernaut.
The Grand Alliance that got here into being with JD(U), Congress and RJD coming collectively, received the 2015 meeting polls handsomely, however got here aside in simply two years.
ALSO READ | ‘Sushasan Babu’ or ‘Paltu Ram’? Meet Nitish Kumar, grasp of the artwork of adjusting governments
Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, hoping to get some traction by advantage of taking a stand in opposition to corruption taint on his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
His tie-up with the BJP, now in energy on the Centre with a brute majority, proved to be electorally profitable although his personal stature appeared to decrease, as evident from the 2020 meeting ballot outcomes during which the JD(U) may win beneath 45 seats within the 243-strong House.
The BJP’s aggressive model, looking for to conquer adversaries and gobble up allies, seems to have gotten the goat of Kumar, who now appears to have determined that he’s higher off along with his former allies who confirmed restricted ambition.
Whether frequent floor along with his new allies with regard to communalism and social justice shall be sturdy sufficient a glue to carry the coalition collectively shall be recognized within the days to return.
Cynics might view the transfer as a survival tactic on his half, however Kumar’s parting methods with the BJP has held out the promise of infusing contemporary vigour within the dispirited opposition within the nation.
