The relevance of being Nitish Kumar

The work done for all sections of society in Bihar will make sure that Nitish Kumar reaps the benefits of the goodwill his governance model has generated in the 2019 General Election

This is a widely accepted fact that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is known for his administrative and developmental achievements and never for his caste and creed.

His unmatched political acumen and commitment towards social justice has made his stature the tallest among other chief ministers in the country. Due to the leadership of a congenital socialist, the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) has its cadre in all sections of the society.

As far as the upcoming General Election are concerned, the latest ABP News-Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) survey has predicted that the JD(U)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine is going to maintain their dominance in Bihar quite comfortably.

The historical development and good governance under the present leadership has been the hallmark of the leader and the party for the last one and half decade. This is the reason JD(U) is better known as a party which enhances the performance of its alliance partners by ensuring the transfer of its vote to them.

Be it the figure of Assembly elections from February 2005 to 2015 Assembly polls, the leadership has been strengthening its alliance.

The party has a history of pulling its ally BJP up from 37 in 2005 to 55 and further to 91 in 2010 and the dormant Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) from 22 to 80 in the last Assembly election.

The recent loss of Jokihat by-poll gained much media attention but perhaps they forgot to mention that the political parties in Bihar simply safeguarded their parental seat and paved no way for counter occupancy.

It was only the Taslimuddin factor which rewarded the Araria Lok Sabha seat to his son Sarfaraz Alam and Jokihat Assembly to Shanawaz Alam, a member of the same family this time.

It’s equally important to state that Sarfaraz as a  JD(U) candidate had won the 2015 and 2010 Assembly election by a margin of 53,980 and 25,330 votes respectively. Taslimuddin himself had represented Jokihat in the Assembly for five terms before becoming MP.

Not to be superlative but the realities of ground works and social justice in the State have made the party and the leader trusteworthy and unmatched in Bihar.

The imagination of erosion of the mass base of JD(U) in Bihar is highly mistaken. Let us not forget the phenomenon of vote complexion.

The JD(U) and RJD have been sharing the same social constituency of socially backward and secular forces. Any political damage in the mass base of JD(U) will ultimately benefit the RJD.

Remember, Nitish has been able to gain the support of the Mahadalit and the Economically Backward Classes (EBC) from the RJD. 

(The writer is senior leader and spokesperson of JD(U))