The chief ministership of Bihar was what he prized the most, changing sides without hesitation to remain in the hot seat. This allowed Nitish Kumar to remain at the pinnacle of power in Patna for 21 years, even as he earned the label of being a “Paltu Ram (turncoat)”.
That is why it has baffled many that Nitish should agree to give up the Pataliputra gaddi (throne) he prized for over two decades and walk into the Rajya Sabha, months after the NDA returned to power following an election fought and won in his name, as a big “thank you” by the Bihar janata to their “sushasan babu (Mr Good Governance)” for all he had done for them. After all, few would want to exchange power in a state with the membership of the Upper House of Parliament.
ALSO READ | In his swan song yatra, Nitish strikes optimistic note for Bihar; deputy says he’s not going anywhere
It was the timing of the Nitish operation that was intriguing. His ill health over the last four to five years was no secret, though those in the know say it had deteriorated since last year. That the BJP would replace him at some point was also hardly a secret, given its single-largest party status and soaring ambitions to rule Bihar. But the BJP was expected to make its move at an appropriate moment, possibly year-end and not three months after elections won in Nitish’s name.
In any case, the Bihar government was being run in his name by a group of bureaucrats and his political confidants. The arrangement could have continued till the post-poll dust had settled down.
Some believe that the BJP advanced its timetable in Patna for reasons that may have as much to do with Bihar as with global developments. The Modi government faces the prospect of navigating a tricky situation internationally because of the West Asia conflict. The Prime Minister’s visit to Israel just days before the conflict began, New Delhi’s initial silence on the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that was later mitigated to an exten by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book at the Iranian Embassy, and the sinking of an Iranian ship in international waters in what India considers its sphere of influence were signs of the challenge the government faced.
ALSO READ | From the Urdu Press: ‘Nitish sacrifices chair to launch Nishant as successor’; ‘TMC, BJP must not drag President into politics’
Most of the BJP’s partners have their support base among the minorities and the government’s initial stance on Iran did not go down well with them. In such a scenario, the BJP, with only 240 MPs in the Lok Sabha and dependent on allies for the majority, may have calculated that it needs to protect its stability in Parliament. The JD(U) is one of them, with 12 Lok Sabha MPs, though led by an ailing Nitish and may have been an unpredictable ally.
By getting Nitish to call it quits in Bihar, the BJP has ensured that its ally is not likely to get split over the issue of succession, as the outgoing CM appears to have agreed to the installation of his son Nishant as a Deputy CM.
The Nitish years
Nitish’s exit as CM will bring to an end an era dominated by him and Lalu Prasad that lasted 35 years and spawned the rise of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). While Lalu gave them a voice, Nitish stabilised the process of their ascendancy and ensured that power devolved not only to the larger and more prominent amongst the backward classes, like Lalu’s Yadav community, or the Kurmis of whom Nitish is one.
The JD(U) chief ensured that the more backward amongst the OBCs who had really been on the margins were also given their due. In the process, he formed an alliance of Kurmis-Koeris with the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), who comprise 36.01% of the population, with the Mahadalits, a category he created of the most impoverished amongst the Dalits, and the (backward) Pasmanda Muslims. This axis stood him in good stead in the years that followed, whether he aligned with Lalu’s RJD in 2015 and 2022, or the BJP.
In 2010, it became a winning combination when these communities aligned with the upper castes represented by the BJP, with whom Nitish had tied up. The JD(U) alone notched up as many as 115 seats.
ALSO READ | How wheels were set in motion in Bihar: From RS nomination for his son to one for Nitish Kumar
Even as he enabled these communities to raise their head, Nitish Kumar’s seminal contribution was to moderate the Mandal phenomenon and make it a mainstream reality without allowing the extremes to take over. He contained the excesses of the Yadav Raj unleashed during Lalu’s years as CM after replacing his former comrade at the helm of the state. He also prevented a backlash to the ongoing OBC-isation that could have come from the disaffected upper castes. His alignment with them and the BJP prevented that from happening, unlike what happened after the Mandal decision in 1990, which led to widespread violence across north India.
Though Nitish Kumar tied up with the BJP, he skilfully prevented a religious polarisation from taking place in Bihar. The “Sushasan Babu” did so by focussing on development, governance, welfarism, women’s empowerment, and the rule of law, and by preventing the RJD, though an opponent, from going under. The BJP would have found it more difficult to replace him as CM today had the RJD fared better in last year’s elections.
With the Lalu-Nitish era coming to an end, Bihar is likely to head towards a bipolar polity, with the BJP-helmed NDA pitted against an RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, squeezing others out of the picture. The Lalu-Nitish yug also universalised Mandal, making OBCs the flavour of the season; both Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi are espousing their rights with competing vigour.
(Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of How Prime Ministers Decide.)
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar 
Share
