The BJP may have got more seats than the Janata Dal (United) to lead the NDA to a thumping victory, but Nitish Kumar has clearly emerged as ‘The Man of the Match’ of the Bihar Assembly elections.
The electorate in Bihar voted on the performance of his government and Nitish has passed the litmus test with flying colours, his failing health notwithstanding.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has, of course, made a significant contribution to the NDA’s victory, but credit goes to Nitish for outsmarting his young rival, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, to be once again the top contender for the chief ministership. His popularity seems to have increased, rather than waned, even though he has been at the helm for 20 years, barring a brief nine-month period.
The election results evidently prove that there was a pro-incumbency wave in the state, with the people, by and large, satisfied with the performance of the Nitish government on almost all fronts, including law and order, electricity, water, and roads.
In the run-up to the elections, even his detractors acknowledged in hushed tones that Nitish remained a force to reckon with because of his clean image and the work done by his administration for different castes and religions.
Ahead of the crucial polls, the JD (U)-led NDA government unveiled a series of welfare schemes, but the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana (MMRY), aimed at women’s economic empowerment, ostensibly proved to be a game-changer as women seemed to have yet again voted overwhelmingly in favour of the ruling coalition.
Janata Dal (U) leaders and workers had already begun celebrations in Patna and other parts of Bihar soon after the exit polls predicted a big win for the coalition. ”Tiger Zinda Hai (The Tiger is still alive),” many shouted, describing Nitish as the “protector” of all communities.
The BJP leadership was initially not enthusiastic about projecting Nitish as the CM candidate, given his poor health, but as the campaigning gained momentum, stalwarts of the saffron party could sense that it would be a big mistake if the JD (U) supremo was not projected as the leader of the alliance.
It is now to be seen whether the BJP leadership will stick to its promise of making Nitish the CM again. Everything depends on PM Modi, who has solidly backed Nitish ever since the JD(U) returned to the NDA fold.
There is another big reason why the BJP will find it difficult to ignore Nitish’s claim to the coveted position. With 12 members in the Lok Sabha, the JD(U) is the second biggest BJP ally after the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and provides critical support to the Modi government in Parliament. There is no second opinion about the fact that Nitish, the longest-serving CM of the state, is one of the shrewdest politicians in the country.
Nitish has led the state through several coalition governments, often switching alliances between the BJP and the RJD. This frequent hopping from one alliance to the other earned him the name of a political “flip-flopper”. But this also highlights his ability to not only survive but thrive in a politically conscious state like Bihar.