Nitish, with his stand on total prohibition, which he implemented in Bihar despite odds and revenue loss from this April, is attempting to create a niche for himself in the country's body politics not only as a politician but also as a social reformer.
“Nitish Kumar is the first and only political leader who has not only implemented social reform but also make it a point to educate the masses against the liquor ills and its social implications,” said JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar. He said earlier some politicians implemented certain policies but never made them agenda for social change.
The Bihar CM is now more active in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, where election is due in February next and during the past four months he visited parts of the biggest State five times, at least four times to address anti-liquor rallies. On Wednesday he was at Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar close to Greater Noida to address a prohibition rally. Before that Nitish travelled to Ghazipur on February 2, Pindara near Varanasi on May 12, lucknow on May 15 and Shivshankari Dham near Mirzapur on June 12. Only one of them was party meeting and rest were organized by different social organizations on the theme of prohibition.
Similarly, Nitish attended a few meetings in neighbouring Jharkhand which had been hosted by various groups.
The recent activities of Nitish indicate that he wants to spread his tentacles across Bihar and particularly in poll bound UP, in the garb of a social reformer but with a political mission; an exercise no politician ever attempted in the past even though some BJP leaders in the past tried to incite religious sentiments and politically cash in during elections.
Keeping all the political calculations in mind, Nitish addressed four rallies in UP had been held in eastern parts.