Nitish Kumar gets another chance to deliver
With the unsavoury political developments of the past fortnight or so behind, Mr Nitish Kumar, having assumed charge as Bihar's Chief Minister for a record fourth time, has the challenging task of bringing back on track development which he claims had been derailed in the nine months of his protégé Jitan Ram Manjhi's tenure. It is good that he has identified effective administration as his Government's priority. It is even better that he has shown indications of rising above the petty politics he had played in the run-up to the lok Sabha election by personally targeting Mr Narendra Modi. Mr Nitish Kumar has said that he is willing to work in tandem with the Prime Minister and meet him for the sake of Bihar's development. It is as much a necessity for the new Chief Minister to reach out to Mr Modi as it is for the latter to develop a working relationship with Mr Nitish Kumar — because only then can true federalism flourish.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly stated that he would like to take the States on board in the task of re-invigorating growth nationwide. This is just as well, because everyone, and more so the Prime Minister who has had the bitter experience of dealing with a hostile Centre when he was Gujarat's Chief Minister, realises the imperative of good Centre-State relations. Parties align and part ways in a democratic system, but Mr Nitish Kumar had introduced an element of personal animosity into the episode by standing on ego. When he had quit as Chief Minister nine months ago, it was generally believed that he had done so because he did not want the ‘embarrassment' of having to deal with Mr Modi as the country's new Prime Minister. The official reason given was he had taken ‘moral responsibility' for his party's crushing defeat in the lok Sabha election. No one was fooled by that.
That is the past. Now, what remains to be seen is the shape of cooperation that will emerge between the Modi-led Government and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The latter has been pushing for a ‘special status' for Bihar to trigger further economic growth, and it remains to be seen whether Mr Modi will grant him the wish, though the BJP is not entirely averse to the idea. Meanwhile, there are other areas where the Centre and the State can work together — in the sectors of health, education and infrastructure development, for instance. But the relationship will be shaped also by the stand the Janata Dal (United) and the new Bihar Government take on issues such as land acquisition and insurance reforms. From available indications, the party will vociferously oppose the reforms, and in that it will be backed by its new-found allies such as lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata and the Congress. The stage is thus set for a confrontation days following Mr Nitish Kumar's elevation to the chief ministership. With an Assembly election scheduled for later this month, Mr Nitish Kumar has only a few months to re-establish his credentials.