Nitish Kumar’s silence signals lull before storm
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Prashant Kishor’s poll plan alarms Nitish Kumar
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, August 11: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has struck a stoic pose for past two weeks. Silence of the Bihar chief minister is in contrast of the MPs of the Janata Dal (United) who howled at the Opposition in the just concluded Budget session of parliament.
The Bihar chief minister was last heard widely for his irritation a day before the unveiling of the Union Budget. Reporters had asked him about his demand for the special category status for Bihar. Kumar had asked reporters to wait.
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Since the unveiling of the Union Budget, the Bihar chief minister is gaining attention for his silence. Patna-based political observers are noting an aberration in the silence of the Bihar chief minister.
Political observers in Patna are growing curious about the Bihar chief minister also for the approaching state Assembly elections. Will Kumar once more do a volte face ahead of the state elections?
Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman won brickbats from the Opposition for her largess for Bihar in the Union Budget. Two expressways, one power plant, one industrial node in Gaya, and promises to develop the tourism potential of Nalanda and Rajgir completed the Bihar package.
The JD (U) MPs were elated with the Budget announcements. But the Bihar chief minister has struck a stoic poise. He skipped the ninth meeting of the Governing Council of the Niti Aayog also.
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Patna-based political observers argue that the Bihar chief minister is growing wary of the poll plans of Prashant Kumar. The election strategist is set to unveil his political party on October 2.
Prashant Kumar is all set to make a bold pitch to carve out a political space in Bihar with a sharp focus on the caste equations.
The Bihar chief minister is also learnt to be piqued at Prashant Kishor’s amplification of the poll narrative of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the Lok Sabha elections. The poll manager turned politician is singling out the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for his attacks, while being silent on the BJP.
The Patna-based political observers are recalling the manner in which Chirag Paswan, Union Minister, had harmed the electoral prospects of the JD (U) in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections by fielding a large number of candidates. A repeat is expected in the next year’s state polls of the same pattern with Prashant Kumar’s electoral plunge.
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