PATNA: The 69-year old Nitish Kumar is facing a tough challenge as two young leaders — leading the parties founded by their fathers — are queering the pitches in the assembly elections this year.
Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan, called the Karan and Arjun of Bihar politics, belong to ideologically different parties but have the same aim -- to unseat Kumar from the chief minister post. The seasoned Kumar, on the other hand, has termed them ‘inexperienced’ .
While 31-year-old Tejashwi is a cricketer-turned-politician, 37-year-old Chirag had tried his hand in acting before joining politics. Both are eligible bachelors, fluent in English and have inherited the political legacies of their fathers.
Tejashawi is aspiring to emulate his parents — fomer CMs Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi — as the leader of the Grand Alliance. On the other hand, Chirag is trying to do what his father Ram Vilas Paswan never did.
“Chirag Paswan as an actor-turned-politician is acting well politically while cricketer-turned-politician Tejashawi Yadav is bating strongly. The state is taking notice of these two leaders’ statements”, said youth activist Mrinal Kumar.
“These two young leaders are full of confidence to unseat a leader like Nitish Kumar who is called Chanakya of Bihar politics and has served the state for 15 years with a visible track record of development,” said Kaushalendra Kumar Singh, a political observer.
How far these two young leaders succeed in their mission against Kumar would be clear only on November 10.