His departure from Bihar’s power centre could pose multiple political challenges for the ruling NDA, particularly BJP, in preserving the support base that Nitish Kumar painstakingly built over two decades. In this new scenario, the BJP may have little choice but to carry forward Nitish’s own ideological plank of ‘Justice with Growth’.
Also Read: Bihar’s longest-serving CM Nitish Kumar chairs last cabinet meet, recommends dissolution
Leveraging the slogan ‘Nyay Ke Saath Vikas’, Nitish Kumar quietly steered Bihar away from the Mandal-era divide of ‘Backward vs Forward’ towards a more nuanced politics of social engineering. Moreover, the JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP enabled him to consolidate the support base of the Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) and Mahadalits with the BJP’s traditional upper-caste backing.
JD(U) senior leader Jagnarayan Singh Yadav, who has edited a book compiling Nitish Kumar’s parliamentary speeches, said the new government led by BJP leader Samrat Choudhary is committed to carrying forward the ‘Nitish model’ of politics in Bihar.
“As a partner in the state government, the JD(U) will continue to safeguard public interests, while giving top priority to women’s empowerment and infrastructure development,” he said.
The foremost challenge before the BJP-led NDA government will be to preserve the political credibility that Nitish Kumar commands among women voters. It is Nitish Kumar who cultivated women as a distinct political constituency, often voting independently of caste loyalties.Also Read: After Nitish Kumar’s exit, Samrat Choudhary’s first message as BJP Bihar leader
Under his leadership, Bihar became the first state to reserve 50% of seats in local bodies for women, bringing them directly into the democratic process in 2006. “The BJP-led NDA government is committed not only to implementing Nitish Kumar’s policies on women’s empowerment, but also to taking them forward,” JD(U) spokesperson Anjum Ara told ET.
On the contrary, JDU will naturally be in a new role in the new BJP-headed NDA government. The party’s main task is expected to be its complete focus on strengthening its bases at the ground level. Although Nitish Kumar has assured his party men to continue to guide the new BJP-headed NDA government in the state, it will be a tough task for JDU leaders to further expand its support base in the state.
One good quality with Nitish Kumar was that he never allowed even his own leaders to interfere in the administrative matters as well as transfer-posting of the bureaucrats. Even his MLAs were never allowed to seek any favour to ensure the posting of any officer of their own choice in their own constituencies.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tewari said Nitish Kumar’s resignation also marks the end of a leadership era that emerged from the 1977 movement in Bihar. “I do not think there is much difference left between the BJP and the JD(U) now,” Tewari told ET.
