Over the past year, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar has been acquiring a reputation for frequent public outbursts, often followed by lengthy apologies. He has lashed out at several people, including current and former political allies, bureaucrats and even a farmer, over various issues.
However, what has drawn his ire the most is the use of English instead of Hindi. The Bihar CM lost his cool in public meetings over the use of English on at least four occasions this year, most recently on December 19 at the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting. As per sources, he fumed when DMK Lok Sabha MP TR Baalu asked for a translation of his Hindi speech. Kumar reportedly said Hindi is the national language and everyone should be able to understand it. He launched into details of the freedom struggle and the “imposition” of English. This is how Nitish Kumar sustains himself and remains politically relevant. Amidst reports of him joining the NDA and not being happy with the I.N.D.I.A grouping, he flummoxed everyone by calling a national executive and the national council meeting of JDU on the same day. He took over the reins of his party as president, telling his predecessor Lallan Singh to quit as president and focus on the Lok Sabha elections and the I.N.D.I.A alliance. To many, Nitish Kumar remains an enigma. What one can see lucidly now is that Nitish wants to go national even if he has to leave his comfort zone of Bihar. He has a bigger vision in mind, loftier goals — but is not sure if he will be able to achieve all of this solo. He needs I.N.D.I.A as much as the alliance needs him, for the North Indian appeal in the Hindi heartland, for alluring the Kurmis, Koeris and the most backward classes. He is amongst only a few Hindi heartland leaders with vast political experience and a suave face without any big blot over his political career of more than four decades.
A samajwadi (socialist) leader to start with, he has a love-hate relationship with the BJP and even worked with the Left parties and the Congress at various junctures. Several such factors work in Nitish Kumar’s favour, yet they can pose challenges for him at times.
The 2024 elections will be a do-or-die battle for the Bihar chief minister, who also holds the dual role of party president of Janata Dal (United). Nitish Kumar is all set to become the convenor of the I.N.D.I.A bloc and is ready to wear many political hats at a time which could be a defining moment of his political career.
Nitish is one of the most experienced leaders from the Hindi heartland and hence an important cog in the wheel of the I.N.D.I.A bloc. The strength of the BJP in the Hindi-speaking states is enormous. After the recent victory in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BJP's clout has strengthened even more. Now, the Opposition alliance needs a face which has credibility to counter Narendra Modi in the Hindi-speaking states. Nitish Kumar as CM of Bihar has the experience of running a government and managing the alliance arithmetic as well. He might not be a magical orator like Modi, but he connects well with the masses through his rustic approach and soft-spoken behaviour. These are the traits that will be important to win some support in the highly polarised northern states.
As the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar has the credit of conducting a caste-based survey in the state — an issue which could be a game-changer in caste-ridden Indian politics.
Nitish Kumar himself is a Kurmi, which comes under the Other Backward Class (OBC), the same caste block to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi also belongs. On December 29 Nitish's JD(U) passed four resolutions during its national executive meeting, one of them supporting the caste-based census across the country. Even the Congress, which is an alliance partner of the JD(U) in Bihar, has supported such a count and expects political benefit out of it in the Lok Sabha polls 2024.
Since the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government, when Nitish Kumar was his Cabinet colleague, he has had a good relationship with many of the BJP leaders. Even in Bihar, Nitish ran a successful government for more than a decade with the help of the BJP. Now, when his equations with the party worsened during the last few years, he still shares a good rapport with many of the senior leaders in the BJP. Not just the BJP but several of its formal allies like Akali Dal in Punjab, and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana have a good working relationship with the JD(U) leader. In such a case, if the Opposition alliance needs some partners, then Nitish could be a glueing factor.
Corruption is one of the biggest issues in Indian politics. Most of the Opposition parties are facing corruption inquiries under the current regime — senior party leaders of the Congress, AAP, TMC, RJD, and DMK are facing corruption charges. But here, Nitish Kumar's position is different among other Opposition parties. Despite being the chief minister for almost two decades now, there are no corruption charges against him. He even takes credit for different social and developmental schemes that were introduced in Bihar. Although his last two tenures as the chief minister have been marred with some controversies, still he has managed to keep his image clean.
Nitish Kumar has been tagged by his political opponents as one of the biggest opportunists in Indian politics, who shifts sides according to convenience. This might be a negative attribute for many but this is the one quality that makes him successful as well. Even the BJP knows that Nitish can flip sides in no time.
That makes him a tough ally but an important friend as well. The recent developments in his party are quite an indicator that even a loyalist like Lalan Singh can be disposed of if the situation demands. Nitish, despite having few MLAs and just a handful of MPs, knows the art of staying relevant and that's exactly why, whether it’s BJP or RJD or Congress, all need him. He is the lone sailor who is indispensible in the choppy waters of politics and no matter how big the storm is, Nitish Kumar knows how to survive. Can he shift to NDA? Well the likelihood looks remote as in mid-January he will be starting his nationwide awareness campaign on the caste census, with the larger responsibility of convenor of the I.N.D.I.A alliance. With Nitish as convenor and Mallikarjun Kharge as president of the alliance, the Opposition parties can be rest assured of these two non-controversial, unblemished faces to infuse energy and value addition. Nitish will surely be the fulcrum and the centrifugal force of the Opposition, and his naysayers who were writing his political obituary are once again proven wrong. Nitish is very much here to stay — he won’t float but it seems he will win the last marathon of his career too.
Neelu Vyas is a senior television anchor and consulting editor with Satya Hindi. Twitter: @neeluopines
