Nitish says he is fighting his last election
PATNA / PURNIA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has been chief minister for the state for nearly 15 years from 2005 to now, made a surprise announcement about his retirement at a rally in Dhamdaha in Purnea on Thursday.
“All is well that ends well. The day after, there is poll. This is my last election. Will you vote for the JD-U candidate or not?” asked Kumar, 69. Bihar’s third and last phase of polls is on November 7.
“The people of Bihar relied on me and my work for 15 years and I appeal to you to give your vote for the last time for the development of Bihar.”
The surprise announcement came on the last day of campaigning and set off speculation about the backstory.
In the campaigning for the last phase of polls, Kumar has sought to send out a clear message different from his ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which analysts say can be attributed to the fact that the Muslimdominated Seemanchal region goes to polls on Saturday. So, even as Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, a star campaigner for the BJP talked about driving away illegal immigrants during his rally in Seemanchal and Union minister Giriraj Singh asked pointed questions about this of the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Kumar made light of the issue, extolling the peace and amity during his regime.
“Who is spreading misinformation and talking nonsense? Who will throw out people from
this country? All of them belong to this nation. But some are indulging in baseless talks. From the time I have got a mandate to serve the public, I have tried to unite everybody and create an environment of brotherhood and harmony. Some people want to create disharmony in the society in a bid to ensure that they don’t need to work. Our objective is to live in harmony and usher in all-round growth and development in the state,” the CM said at the rally. On Wednesday, Adityanath said at the rally in Katihar that the government had introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, to ensure prosecuted Hindu, Jain, Christian, and Buddhist minorities in Muslim-majority nations in south Asia such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan get citizenship in India and also committed to throw out infiltrators, who are making a sinister bid to breach the nation’s security. “I know Katihar district is hit hard by infiltrations,” he said, in a veiled reference to illegal Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators, who have allegedly made the Seemanchal region their home taking advantage of the porous Indo-Bangla border in north Bengal, which is located close to Kishanganj district.
Meanwhile, the JD(U) explained his comments of fighting his last election as understandable from someone known for “politics with a difference.”
“He has often said that nobody is permanent. He has always walked the talk and Nitish Kumar is known for politics with a difference. He earlier left the chair of railway minister and chief minister. He lives for the people and that is what he has always done,” said the party’s spokesperson and minister Neeraj Kumar. BJP leader and MLC Sanjay Mayukh said the decision was Kumar’s to make: “But with people’s blessings, which have always been with him, he will again hold the chair for five years and after that he may decide,” he added.
The opposition didn’t quite see it that way. “Tejaswhi Prasad Yadav (the RJD’s chief ministerial candidate) has been consistently saying that Nitish Kumar is tired and unable to handle Bihar. Now, he has admitted it as a last ditch bid to get some sympathy. On November 10, he knows who is coming and that his days are numbered. People have made up their mind and Nitish Kumar knows it that he people have given him enough opportunities and his time is up,” said RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari.
While most polls conducted ahead of the elections expect the NDA to win, the election in Bihar has seen Kumar’s record of good governance run into a strong anti-incumbency sentiment. Worse still, the Lok Janshakti party, part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state, exited the grouping (it remains part of the NDA at the Centre), and has put up candidates, mostly against the JD(U)’s. Its leader Chirag Paswan has also targetted Kumar.
On Thursday, Paswan said that when the results are out on November 10, the incumbent of 1, Aney Marg (the CM’s residence) would have to vacate the space.
JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan said that the LJP is the B-team of the RJD and behaving as such. “The results will show how people have discarded RJDled alliance and once again showed their trust in the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. Chirag is a non-player in Bihar and he will realize it on the day of result.”
Interestingly, local RJD leaders at Purnia said Kumar’s announcement was a ploy to work on people’s emotions and get them to vote for his party.
Indian Army chief General MM Naravane presents medical equipment for two field hospitals of Nepal Army, in Kathmandu. Naravane is on a three-day crucial visit that is largely aimed at resetting the bilateral ties that came under severe strain following a bitter border row between the two countries.