The green thumbs

Politics has seen enough green warriors and movements the former next president of the United States Al Gore who went on from the dimpled chads of Florida to discovering some inconvenient truths about climate change; and the German Greens who talked about the weather and still managed to get some votes. But nobody has probably gone where Nitish Kumars JDU has in twining plants and party politics. To join Bihars ruling party,the lofty prerequisites of allegiance to the Constitution and abhorrence for theocracy and a modest membership fee are no longer good enough: you also need to have a green thumb and plant a tree.

The partys Harit Bihar Abhiyan has horticultural ambitions and demands that are unheard of in the Indian political landscape. It is not enough that you plant a sapling on private land if you are a landless poor in Bihar,then better seek out a landed friend you also need to take a photograph and post it to the party as evidence. True to the wondrous shibboleths of Indian bureaucracy,the big brothers in committees would keep an eye on you and even take a trip down to see if your plant is indeed in fine fettle. The party hopes that 50 lakh people would become members in the next two years,which translate into as many trees,thus effecting the states custom-made green revolution. And in a drive that would make Nandan Nilekani proud,every sapling would have a unique identity number for easy tracking. After a few years,we will have to check if the exercise has indeed borne fruit.

For now,JDUs commitment extends from grassroots to treetops.