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Nitish
Kumar was among those who were instrumental in catapulting Lalu Yadav to the office of Bihar’s Chief Minister in 1990. The taciturn engineer-turned-politician was a perfect counterfoil to the flamboyant and rustic Lalu. It was not difficult to underestimate Nitish Kumar, who remains an indifferent public speaker and cannot clearly match the colourful language used by his one-time friend. If Chandragupta Maurya was a role model for Lalu, Nitish Kumar appears to have studied Chanakya more closely. Having won the Assembly election in 2005 by promising good governance or “Su-shashan”, he proceeded to take all barbs in his stride. Lalu Yadav spared no occasion to lampoon the JD(U)-BJP government in the state, spared no effort to drive a wedge between the allies, lost no opportunity to ridicule the secular credentials of Kumar. But Nitish proved his critics wrong and overcame fears of “anti-incumbency” to sweep this year’s Assembly election, leading the coalition to bag 206 of the 243 seats. He also managed to keep the controversial Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi out of campaigning in Bihar. Voters belonging to the minority community, the extremely Backward Castes, women and the youth were sufficiently impressed with his work and his appeal to vote for his track record
and not on his caste, to give him an over whelming majority. While Bihar still has a long way to go, Kumar’s business-like approach has convinced his people of his sincerity. During the past five years, he certainly made the state safer, often acting against his own partymen. The crackdown on crime and criminals, the initiative to hire ex-servicemen on contract to assist the police, approving fast-track courts to quickly dispose off cases has paid off. On the development front, the coalition ensured that Central grants were utilised properly and roads were laid at a fast clip. Teachers were made to attend schools and doctors began manning the primary health centres. Girl students were given free bicycles, uniform and books. Some semblance of work culture was restored in government offices and the secretariats again became functional. Kumar began his second innings, or to be more precise third, in November by vowing to crackdown on corruption and ensuring delivery of services to the people. He already has enacted a law, which allows the government to confiscate property of corrupt officials. And a beginning has already been made by converting the house of an officer, accused of acquiring disproportionate wealth, into a school. The Chief Minister is also on record that he would enact a ‘Right to Services’ Bill in the next session of the Assembly so that government servants are forced to deliver within specific time-limits. A more astute politician than he is given credit for, Nitish Kumar has also ushered in a period of reconciliation. Refusing to act tough against Naxalites or political rivals match the new mood in the state , for once impatient for change.
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