He came to power riding on a plank of development to help Bihar get rid of sheer lawlessness or what in popular lingo means ‘jungle raaj’. For nine years, he continued to deliver good governance and win hearts and followers alike, including me. Revered to as a messiah, susashan babu an
d a pride for more than 10 crore Biharis, former CM Nitish Kumar changed the state of Bihar politics in his eight-year-old stint in power.

Recently, I was aghast on hearing about 63-year-old maverick politician joining hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. It was indeed shocking for me as he had carved an image of himself being a vehement baiter of Lalu, who gained more notoriety during his 15-year-stint in power. Forming an electoral alliance with the ones whom he had ridiculed in his successful political career so far, I found no time to realize a basic gospel of truth associated with politics. Nobody is a permanent friend or enemy here.

In the autumn of 2005 when Nitish read out his oath at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, many had thought that the good days in Bihar had finally come. Taking over as chief minister in the coalition government with long time ally BJP, Nitish went out to deliver what had promised in the initial years. History-sheeted criminals were thrown behind bars, roads were built and the state was heading towards a slow yet positive path to development. Impressed by his credentials and sushasan, the people of Bihar re-elected his coalition government to power with an astounding majority, to an extent that there was no opposition party in the Bihar Assembly.

It was during this time that something went wrong. Having hailed his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi in 2003, Nitish took a U-turn and asked BJP leaders to keep the latter away from Bihar in the Assembly polls. Reason being, Nitish feared the Muslim votes would go to RJD because of Modi’s pro-Hindutva image. The shadow boxing between Nitish and BJP continued till the one fine day when the BJP with an eye to accomplish its Mission 272, elevated Modi as the party’s central election campaign committee chief in May 2013. 

This prompted Nitish to take the boldest decision and the JD(U) broke its 17-year-old alliance with the BJP. Reason being Nitish’s repeated clamours for a NDA prime ministerial candidate with secular credentials.

I would not have objected had Nitish criticised Modi long way back in early 2000s when the former Gujarat CM was just three years into power and facing hostilities from both inside and outside the party. Had he not mentioned Gujarat riots as a forgotten incident only to change his stand years later, Nitish could have found takers.

So when the Lok Sabha polls in May this year punched hole in the bubble of secularism which he along with the ‘so-called’ Third Front leaders had conceived in a much-publicised press conference, I was not surprised. With the BJP sweeping the Lok Sabha polls with an astounding majority including storming mandate in Bihar as well, the writing was on wall for the JP movement politician. Sensing a likely humiliation, Nitish put in his papers and managed to install his protégé and Mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi as his successor.

With an eye to return to power in the Assembly polls scheduled next year, JD(U) called off its animosity towards the RJD and formed an alliance with Congress as the third partner for the bypolls to 10 Assembly seats scheduled to be held on August 21. Although the trio has pledged to stop the communal forces under BJP, the alliance is nothing but a brazen specimen of political opportunism.
It should be seen whether Nitish benefits anything from the unholy alliance or goes down in history as a brilliant administrator gone astray due to political opportunism

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