With Nitish apparently set to be moving out of Patna, for some cushy position in Delhi, the imminent prospect of the takeover of Bihar by Laloo’s family appears to be the ground reality today. Hence against this backdrop, the situation in Bihar appears to be almost the same when Nitish took over more than fifteen years ago. Small wonder then, people of Bihar appears to be staring in vacuum today as they did more than fifteen years ago, before Nitish Kumar took over.
Vivekanand Jha Ranchi: Finally, the omissions and commissions have pathetically begun to reflect on Nitish Kumar in the twilight of his career: The man who, during his sunrise years, sought not only to blow the moral scruples into smithereens, but dared to defy the Law of Karma, through his political calisthenics, stitching political alliances to survive in politics through his political manoeuvrings, based on his own political expediency, now appears to be at the political crossroad. Significantly, none trusts him today: His party appears to be staring at political vacuity brought about by the conspicuous absence of his anointed successor —this writer had questioned Nitish Kumar about his successor in the past, which Sudheendra Kulkarni had dubbed as a very appropriate question– will surely prove to be the trigger for the disintegration of JDU. Unequivocally, in the caste cauldron of electoral politics, if Nitish had dared to survive for almost fifteen years, he deserves kudos, yet, despite staying for such a prolonged years, Nitish had drastically failed to leave behind any legacy for the posterity to cherish. On the contrary, the ideological somersaulting he had institutionalised to remain in power, further contributed to the degeneration of the polity to the lowest ebb. Regrettably, he bluntly refused to designate his successor, lest his own supremacy was challenged, resulted in the stark vacuity the party is staring at, with Nitish Kumar kowtowing BJP to reach the Rashtrapati Bhavan or the position of the Vice- Presidency or, if either of this is not forthcoming, to finally settle for Rajya Sabha membership, is the vindication of political opportunism to the hilt. Alas, the image of ‘ Sushashan Babu’ so carefully nurtured around his personality, stands spectacularly punctured at the altar of abiding ground reality which Bihar showcases today–law and order which Nitish sought to restore, has considerably deteriorated yet again. Worse still, despite being a disciple of Jayaprakash Narayan, Nitish has done everything which would have made Jayaprakash squirm in his grave, the unsavoury spectacle of a political turncoat fast catching up with Nitish, as his drooling shoulders too unable to bear his own weight, the fifteen years’ chief minister of Bihar, of course with the benefits of hindsight, has made a mess of his political image when he is set upon to finally move out of Patna to a cushy portfolio in Delhi, the question that looms large in the minds of Biharis and fellow compatriots: Nitish Kumar has unconscionably left Bihar, almost at the same place from where he had kick-started his political innings in Patna, more than fifteen years ago. Will Bihar yet again degenerate into a jungle Raj, for Tejaswi Yadav, not even matriculate, is destined to step into Nitish’ shoes, the future of Bihar appears extremely bleak, with the anarchic days of Laloo- Rabri regime appears to duplicate its rule yet again in the poorest state of the Union.
With the benefits of hindsight, it is the people of Bihar who need to ask themselves this relevant question: How would it behove the state which contributes towards the maximum IAS officers, finally falling casualty yet again to be ruled by a non- matriculate, is the severe indictment of the people of the state for living in blissful ignorance of the contemporary times. The state where caste identity plays a pivotal part in shaping the political trajectory of the state, deserves no better leadership than it purportedly showcases. Significantly, Bihar has shown no maturity of political leadership after Lalit Narayan Mishra and, therefore, the churning out, in the aftermath of Mandal Commission, crystallised the leadership of Laloo Yadav where the Brahmins, the most empowered intellectual class, was rendered politically impotent. Small wonder then, with the rise of Laloo and Nitish Kumar, Bihar’s polity became polarised between the two. With Inder Kumar Gujaral, playing a villaneous role, catalysed the elevation of Rabri Devi, it was an all time low for Bihar. Significantly, the historic rise of an educated Nitish Kumar was all the more welcome, against the backdrop of Bihar losing all its gravity and dignity too in the eyes of outsiders. The pejorative connotation of the term ‘Bihari’ as a butt of joke became institutionalised with Laloo- Rabri regime doing its tandav in Bihar, the overall credibility of the state was blown into smithereens.
With a decade and half down the line, Nitish Kumar’s political emasculation having reached crescendo, the daunting challenge before the people of Bihar is to ensure that the state does not degenerate into an anarchy yet again. This, in the wake of the speculations galore of Nitish seeking an exit out of Bihar, has gained currency. Apparently, Nitish’ moving out of Patna, on account of graceful deal struck, and BJP taking over the chief ministership, the situation as it appears today, might not be plausible for JDU, for the latter is facing an imminent threat of cannibalization by RJD. Small wonder then, Nitish Kumar’s political opportunism has finally reduced JDU to this pathetic level. Unequivocally, none today trusts Nitish Kumar–neither BJP, nor the opposition. Worse still, Nitish’ time tested pressure tactics to extract his own pound of flesh, too, had lost its credibility in the eyes of people–his rushing to attend Iftiyar Party at Tejaswi’s place, and then, rushing to welcome Amit Shah at the airport, to appease the latter in no ambiguous terms, had exposed him yet again to the charges of blatant hypocrisy. Prima facie, as it appears, Nitish Kumar, always in haste for positions, irrespective of the moral scruples, may finally succeed in reaching to the position of the Vice- Presidency, if not to the highest constitutional position of the land, yet he should reflect his face in the mirror: He has strangled his own party by his stubborn refusal to anoint a successor. In the past, his tragic move to evict Prashant Kishor on the strong objection from R C.P.Singh, has rendered the party without any successor. Thus when Nitish Kumar, sooner than later, is all set to move out of Patna, or even call it quits, who will shed tears for his long innings in politics, if Bihar, yet again, reverts back to the rule of Laloo’s family, and JDU will stand disintegrated? It is the time for Nitish Kumar to reflect his face in the mirror and look for the answers to these questions.
Vivekanand Jha, an author, academician and a Public Intellectual.
