As a reward to Nitish Kumar for breaking his party’s ties with the BJP by rejecting Narendra Modi as NDA prime ministerial candidate, the Congress is making all efforts these days to build the Bihar Chief Minister’s image as a poster boy of secularism.
For instance, the grand old party gave Nitish a chance to become the first ever Chief Minister to address the annual convention of the National Minority Commission (NMC).
As the first ever non-Congress politician addressing the NCM convention, Nitish Kumar did not disappoint. And he matched the Congress brand-building efforts in equal measure, keeping himself focused on challenging Modi’s campaign strategy, wizardry with words. Interestingly, the exercise was not confined to his projection as a secular mascot. Nitish was pitted as the administrative alternative to Modi as well.
Minority Affairs Minister K Rehman Khan and NCM Chairman Wajahat Habibullah, who went out of their way to provide Nitish the NMC platform in New Delhi -- apparently on orders from the top “to counter Modi’s rising popularity”-- were seen chaperoning him to the lunch hosted by the European Union.
In company of Janata Dal (U)’s bureaucrat-turned-politicians N K Singh and Pawan Verma, the Bihar Chief Minister fished for investment and other engagements.
Sources said though no prominent Congress leader or MP, except Rehman Khan, were seen at the lunch, Nitish had the creme de la creme of diplomatic and social circles fawning over him, thanks to the directions given by his “new friend in New Delhi”. If the hint was Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, it was not made explicit.
Yet to decide whether it’s Nitish or longstanding-ally Lalu Prasad who will deliver the parliamentary seats in Bihar, the grand old party is keeping options open by not embracing either. Nonetheless, this tango with the Congress may eventually cost Nitish dear. Take the Left parties, both the CPM and the CPI have refused his invitation for one-to-one meeting as Nitish is increasingly being seen as a “Congress bait.” Nitish had extended this invitation to both the parties towards the end of August to discuss about a “secular” front at a time the CPM had announced its plan to hold a secular convention in the first week of October. But CPM general secretary Prakash Karat is learnt to have uprightly rejected his invitation as he does not want to have any alliance at this point of time with someone who is closely linked with the Congress. “Karat is still stuck to his equidistance policy towards the Congress and BJP and declined the invitation,” said a CPM leader.
According to him, Sitaram Yechury, who advocates better relations with the Congress, was keen on the meeting. “But Karat put his foot down and said if Nitish is that keen on a secular front, he can come and join the secular convention organised by the party,” said the leader. Similarly, the CPI, which had recently made it clear that its current alliance with the JD(U) Government is “transient”, also refused the invitation.
“Actually Nithish is heading for a tough terrain if the signals from the ground are correct. The Congress need not hold him on the same pedestal for long. Nitish also knows it too well and that’s why he is making most out of the Congress Government while the sun is shining,” said a senior Left leader pointing at the concessions he is demanding from the UPA Government.
In fact, Nitish’s severing of ties with the BJP has not translated into any tangible gain for him. The BJP feels that it will have the last laugh as Nitish is now trapped in an image he created for himself by opposing Modi, by compromising on his long-standing anti-Congress politics.
And the BJP feels that the party can use the Modi-factor to swing votes in its favour in Bihar. BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said there would be a huge public support for them after Modi’s addresses Hunkaar rally in Patna on October 27.
Nitish Kumar’s fumbling response to two grim tragedies -- the mid-day meal deaths, and the Bodh Gaya blast-- has further dented his image as an able administrator. Even when Indian Mujahideen founder Yasin Bhatkal was arrested, curiously, the Bihar police refused to interrogate him though it played a key role in the arrest. This over-playing of the minority card, the BJP feels, will boomerang on the Bihar CM and help the BJP consolidate its upper-caste Hindu vote-bank.
“The JD (U) does not have a dedicated cadre like the BJP. We have been working in all the 40 constituencies right up to the booth level to get support (the same had worked in Nitish’s favour earlier), unlike Nitish’s party workers who tend to go with the flow,” Rudy said.