An eye on future, old rivals fight over development

Politics, which had taken a backseat following the change of regime in Bihar, is back in the limelight. Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan recently addressed a meeting in Hajipur, his parliamentary constituency, and declared he was giving the Nitish Kumar Government six more months to show results before launching a campaign against it. He said development should be visible on the ground and not on paper.

Some time back, the Lok Janshakti Party leader had shared the dais with Nitish in Hajipur and assured the masses he was with the CM on the issue of development. This led to speculation that their coming together, in the long run, was to marginalise their mutual enemy, Lalu Prasad Yadav. But this soon changed as Paswan hinted at reinforcing his image as an independent leader opposed to both Lalu and Nitish. In the last general election, the LJP had aligned with Lalu8217;s RJD, and in the Assembly polls he fought independently.

Paswan has started raising the issue of development because he is sure that the next election in Bihar will be fought on the development plank. The seed has been sown by Nitish, who turned the state8217;s development into a political issue by virtually promising the sky as far as progress was concerned. The LJP leader has apparently started getting the feedback that the NDA Government hasn8217;t been able to achieve much success in translating promises to realities on the ground. He is also pretty sure the Government will not be able to achieve before time runs out. His ultimatum of six months is politically well-calculated, therefore, as the countdown to the next general election will begin early next year, with the Assembly polls to follow.