Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has already set a record by serving the state as CM for the longest period but now faces a challenge to keep his ‘numero uno position’ intact as new challenges have cropped up before him as the assembly election approaches.
Nitish has also taken oath as CM for a record nine times but this time, his coronation (raj tilak) for another term will not be as seamless. On earlier occasions, both BJP-led NDA and RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) accepted him for the top post without any qualm.
BJP: Waiting in the wings?
Even when Nitish`s party, JD (U), was relegated to third position in the seat tally in the 2020 assembly election, BJP insisted that he should hold the CM post once again despite his initial reluctance.
“BJP is apparently waiting for Nitish losing his primacy in the state politics completely over a period of time due to his alleged health complications. It will be time when BJP will decide to strike. BJP cannot afford to annoy Nitish before the election at any cost, but Nitish 'falling' health definitely opens a window of opportunity for BJP. BJP can persuade Nitish to vacate the CM chair in case any such situation emerges post-election,” a political commentator reasoned.
Although there was an anti-incumbency against Nitish in 2020 but this time, he has an additional challenge as the opposition has upped its ante against him by raising questions on his health condition, noted political analyst Dr Sanjay Kumar while speaking to FPJ.
Nitish’s challenges
Nitish never misses an opportunity to highlight how he changed the image of Bihar completely by implementing various schemes. He also keeps repeating how no development work had allegedly taken place during Lalu-Rabri regime.
“Nitish will be held more accountable this election when JD (U)`s support to the NDA government at the centre is important for its stability,” political analyst Kumar noted.
“Nitish`s development is limited to ‘Bijli-Sadak-Pani’ (electricity-road and water). Bihar has only 1.3 percent of working industrial units in India, urbanisation in Bihar is low at around 13 percent, Bihar still has to depend on Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal for supply of fishes and on Amritsar for supply of flowers. Private investments are not coming to the state,” he added.
“Nitish`s failure to take Bihar to the next level of development is definitely going to become an issue in the election as young leaders have seen how their villages can not get more than ‘sadak-bijli-pandi in 20 years of Nitish Raj”, he claimed.
