Nitish Kumar is a man in a hurry. Hurry to go it alone. Hurry to reach out to people. Hurry to embark on a new adventure.
His hurry was evident when he started on yet another round of Sewa Yatra from Gopalganj district on May 1, with the obvious aim of reaching out to the electorate before the announcement of parliamentary elections. Early political signals indicate that the chances of the chief minister going it alone in the next elections are becoming brighter with each passing day. And if indeed his party takes the solo plunge, Nitish’s fabled political acumen would be severely put to test.
The chief minister has over the years nurtured new social constituencies of his own like Mahadalits and EBC. Now he is trying his best to mobilise a large section of minorities in his favour. Should his effort pay off, not only would it add sizeable votes to his kitty, as they constitute more than 16 per cent of the electorate, the section’s desertion would weaken arch rival RJD considerably in the state.
Late last week, Nitish participated in a number of programmes involving the minority community. He was present in a function organised by the Shersawadi Muslims in Purnea and promised all government support to them. This community is numerically very strong in the area. Nitish didn’t hesitate to attend Congress MLA Tausif Alam’s over-the-top wedding and neither did he give the JD(U) minority cell programme at Rajgir a miss.
While the issue of Narendra Modi’s candidature for the prime ministerial chair could win Nitish and his party a section of minority votes, through his latest campaign, the chief minister is trying his best to strike new rapport with minorities keeping in mind a changed political situation.
When Nitish was asked about the motive of his yatra, he said he was only concerned about the governance of the state and denied any political compulsions. “This kind of social engagements make it very clear that for him, yatra means something gainful. He didn’t hesitate to take lunch at the residence of a known bahubali, MLA Amrendra Pandey, who is accused in a number of serious criminal cases,” said senior CPI(ML) leader Kamlesh Sharma.
“Nitish is doing his own political campaign at government cost. He visited hospitals where many children suffering from Japanese encephalitis are admitted,” said Upendra Kushwaha, president of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.