Tag: nitish kumar on bjp

We’re Witnessing the Irrevocable Loss of ‘Brand’ Nitish Kumar

The Bihar CM is yet to expand his council of ministers. This could well be because of his diminished clout.

Patna: Nearly a month after taking oath as chief minister, Nitish Kumar is yet to expand his council of ministers. And with the monthlong kharmas beginning on Tuesday, he is unlikely to do it any time before Makar Sankranti marking the beginning of the “holy spell,” from January 15.

Local media has largely attributed the delay to the differences between his Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, over the share of ministerial births and other related issues. But the larger story here is that Nitish has lost – perhaps irrevocably – his brand image, rooted to his ideological convictions. This was the very quality that allowed him to have his way with ease until three years ago.

Never a natural mass leader like Lalu Prasad Yadav or backed by the jingoistic and hugely networked Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) like Narendra Modi, Nitish still had equals when it came to embodying an idea of India rooted in inclusive values, secularism, equality before the law and justice to all.

Also read: State Govt Documents Belie Nitish Kumar’s Claim on Grain Procurement in Bihar

Liberal scholars

Nitish has always drawn appreciation from the likes of Amartya Sen, Lord Meghnad Desai, Ramachandra Guha and Mahesh Rangarajan.

Ramachandra Guha in one of his articles in 2008 expressed the need of a dozen Barack Obama-like leaders to lead as diverse a country as India and he found Nitish fitting the bill as one of them.

“Rather than searching for a single, brilliant, charismatic leader who can reshape the country, we would be better served by a dozen, lesser (and less glamorous) figures who are, in some degree, Obama-like. In so far as he is not sectarian, does not come from a political dynasty, appears to be honest and committed to good governance for all — not just a particular caste or religious grouping – Nitish Kumar may be considered to fit the bill. He is no Barack Obama, but he is certainly much less unlike Obama than, say, Mayawati or Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi. An India of 15 or 20 chief ministers in his mould would be a better, or least a less unhappy and less violent, place,” Guha wrote in The Telegraph on November 22, 2008.

Despite starting off as a chief minister with the BJP in 2005, Nitish loved to host scholars, writers and policy-makers inimical to the Sangh Parivar’s world view.

At a conclave in Patna in 2011, Nitish described Amartya Sen as a ‘powerhouse of knowledge’. Amartya Sen in his address dwelt at length on the medieval age Bihar-born monarch Sher Shah, for his innovative capability to build infrastructures.

Mahesh Rangarajan has discussed the politics and visions of Nitish with this writer in the run up to the 2010 assembly polls.

Also read: Nitish Kumar Is Wrong to Blame Distance From the Sea for Bihar’s Poor Development

Justice

Despite operating with the BJP, Nitish has never allowed the saffron party to influence his ideas and actions in the first seven years of his rule as chief minister. He adhered to his ‘growth with justice’ mantra with panache. To this end, he ensured equitable participation of Mahadalits and women by reserving more seats for them in the Panchayats and other local bodies, made the move to pay lifelong pension to the kin of the victims of the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, fenced over 8,000 Muslim graveyards and gave proportionate representation to minorities in the JD(U)’s organisational set up.

Be it the weakness of the BJP after the exit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee as prime minister in 2004 or the ‘moderate’ nature of the Vajpayee-Advani era, the saffron party allowed Nitish to carry forward his “socialist, secular and inclusive” agenda in Bihar without fuss.

Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. Photo: PTI

Thus, when he raised his banner of revolt against the emergence of Narendra Modi on the Sangh Parivar’s mosaic in the second decade of the 21st century, he looked very natural in the role. His shifting to the JDU-RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan too looked natural for at the broader ideological level these parties represented what Nitish had been espousing all along.

The liberal scholars, policy makers and also the citizenry at large justified his becoming the CM despite his JD(U) getting 71 seats against the RJD’s 80 in the 2015 elections. By all accounts, he was the best suited for the position.

 A lost brand

The grapevine has it that Nitish is insisting on a 50:50 share for the JD(U) and the BJP in his council of ministers. Even though JD(U) has 43 MLAs against the BJP’s 74, Nitish might make the BJP concede on this point in the given situation and he might be able to expand his council of ministers as per his wish.

But it won’t be a lasting solution. Such rifts will keep on cropping with Nitish systematically compromising on the ideology and values he started off as the CM. After getting back to the BJP in 2017, has meekly acquiesced to the agenda of Modi-Shah’s brand of politics. He shared a dais with Amit Shah and blissfully ignored the violence perpetrated on those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

His JD(U) helped BJP obliterate the Article 370 that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bring the law prohibiting triple talaq.

And now, he is supporting the BJP in the all encompassing farmers’ stir against the three controversial farm laws enacted by the Modi led government. Nitish’s JD(U) is the only non-BJP party that is supporting the ruling establishment on the issue when the BJP’s long standing allies, Akali Dal and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) of Rajasthan have distanced themselves from the saffron brigade and are solidly behind the cause of the agitating farmers.

Also read: Interview | ‘Will Have to Think If We Want to Remain in NDA’: RLP Chief on Farmers’ Protest

Because of his systematic compromises with the RSS-BJP on the basic parameters set for governing the pluralistic and diverse Indian nation, Nitish has lost the capability to operate in the socialist, secular and egalitarian ethos that the Congress, the RJD and the Left broadly aim to represent. In the process, Nitish, perhaps, has irrevocably lost his brand image and he seems to be making little effort to recover it.

Nalin Verma is the author of Gopalganj to Raisina: My Political Journey, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s autobiography. He has also authored The Greatest Folk Tales of Bihar.

Nitish Kumar’s Journey From Trenchant Modi Critic To the Most Reliable Executor of ‘Moditva’

After submitting to the BJP’s agenda despite self-professed differences, the Bihar chief minister has now also slipped comfortably into the role of the junior partner in his state.

Patna: Nitish Kumar completed his journey from a trenchant critic of Narendra Modi’s brand of politics to a reliable executor of what is referred to as “Moditva” as he took oath as the Bihar chief minister for the seventh time and his fourth term on Monday.

The Narendra Modi-Amit Shah led-BJP got Nitish to agree to dispense with Sushil Kumar Modi – the last remnant of the A.B Vapajpayee-L.K. Advani’s ‘moderate’ era. Sushil Modi stuck to Nitish as his loyal deputy for about 13 years even at the cost of angering aggressive Hindutva forces that gained primacy under the prime minister and the Union home minister.

At Sushil Modi’s expense, Nitish has got two deputy chief ministers – Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi – taking the oath of office and secrecy with him. Both Tarkishore and Renu symbolise the Sangh parivar’s larger agenda of Hindutva in flesh and blood.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar May Be Quiet Now, But His Compromise With BJP Rings Loud

While the electoral success of Tarkishore – a fourth-term MLA from Katihar in the minorities-heavy Seemanchal region – is rooted in the politics of polarisation, Renu, the MLA from Bettiah, belongs to the Nonia caste. The Nonia caste is categorised as part of the extremely backward class (EBC) grouping. They aptly fit into the BJP’s new scheme to appropriate EBCs and women from Nitish’s voter base.

Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] stands reduced to just 43 MLAs, against the BJP’s 74, catapulting the latter into the ‘big brother’ position for the first time in 15 years. Nitish – an ever flexible power politician – has without fuss accepted his “younger brother” status. He has retained his position as the CM but his council of ministers has the stamp of Modi-Shah cleanly embossed on it.

While returning from Bihar’s Raj Bhavan on Sunday after submitting his claim to form the government, Nitish said, “I was not ready to become the chief minister as I wanted the BJP to have its CM but I have accepted the responsibility on the persuasion of the BJP leaders.”

The Wire had reported on November 12 itself that Nitish had created the perception that he was “reluctant to accept the CM’s job” as a part of his well-calculated strategy. Nitish’s statement that he was “not ready to become CM” is testament to this.

Nitish, of late, has begun reemphasising his “three Cs”— an abbreviation of his zero-tolerance for communalism, crime and corruption. “I will stand against the thee Cs as I have been doing all through my rule,” he told reporters before being sworn in as the CM.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar with deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. Credit: PTI

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar with deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. Credit: PTI

A meek acquiescence 

But the fact remains that he has meekly acquiesced to the BJP on the three cardinal issues – Article 370, uniform civil code and construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya – which he got recorded as his party’s “differences” with the BJP, saying his party’s stance on these issues has been clear since 1996.

His JD(U) supported the BJP by abstaining from the voting on the Bill to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. His party voted in favour of the Narendra Modi government’s triple talaq Bill, which Nitish had said that was not in conformity with his party’s stand on uniform civil code. The Ranjan Gogoi led Supreme Court’s bench ruled for the construction of the Ram temple on the site where the Babri mosque was razed. The controversial ruling provided Nitish with a face-saving device on this particular issue as he had advocated for the issue to be settled in court.

But his party supported the BJP on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in gross contradiction with his broader political ideology. This led to the axing of his party’s liberal face Pavan Varma and strategist Prashant Kishor. Nitish preferred to dispense with the duo who were critics of the CAA at the altar of his party’s socialist/secular roots and entered into an alliance with the BJP for the Delhi elections in February, when anti-CAA protests had erupted across the country.

Socialist ideologue and the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s national vice president Shivanand Tiwari said, Modi has now got Nitish Kumar – the BJP’s most articulate and reliable partner – to implement Moditva. This is an aggressive brand of Hindutva under the prime minister’s stewardship. “Nitish has surrendered to Modi’s brand of politics by compromising everything he stood for in his about 40 years of political life,” he said.

Some sceptics fear that the BJP armed with a larger number of MLAs, might ‘trouble’ Nitish Kumar. “Why should the BJP trouble Nitish when he is without fuss signing on the dotted line, wherever Modi-Shah want him to? He was a mute spectator to Narendra Modi shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ridiculing the opponents of the Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir from the dais. His (Nitish’s) party’s candidates were beneficiaries of the polarising speeches that the prime minister and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath delivered in Seemanchal and Kosi regions,” said Tiwari.

In fact, Nitish – a master of creating ambiguity – is himself trying to create a perception that he might face some trouble with the BJP in the long run. The reality is not so, for he has given no reason to the BJP to trouble him.

Giant cardboard cut outs of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. Credit: Reuters/Cathal McNaughton/File Photo

Once a bitter critic

Nitish was the bitterest of Modi’s critics when he took over as Bihar’s CM in 2005 in alliance with the BJP. He treated Modi as an “illicit” element in his conception of the “idea of India” and described him as the “third force” – not supposed to interfere in the affairs of Bihar. He went to the extent of denying him dinner in 2009. He vociferously opposed the BJP’s projection of Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. He dumped the BJP in 2013 on the sole basis that Modi was spearheading the saffron party’s campaign for the 2014 general elections.

He joined the RJD-Congress-JDU Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in 2015 and retained his CM’s position by defeating the BJP and vowing never to join hands with the saffron party. But he did return in 2017, with Narendra Modi well-entrench as its leader.

Also Read: A Deeper Look Into the Bihar Polls Will Reveal the Enduring Importance of Nitish Kumar

When he took oath as the chief minister on Monday, he looked like the “most obedient” follower of Narendra Modi’s brand of politics. Perhaps none of the BJP’s allies – former and present, including the Akali Dal and Shiv Sena – have surrendered to Narendra Modi in the manner Nitish has.

And against the perception that he might face troubles, he is likely to have a smooth run in his last term as the Bihar CM (if his word is anything to go by). With Nitish’s “silent but well-measured” support, Modi-Shah will carry forward their campaign to try and win West Bengal, Assam and other states going to the polls in the following years.

Nalin Verma is a senior journalist and author of Gopalganj to Raisina: My Political Journey, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s autobiography and The Greatest Folk Tales of Bihar.