On day of INDIA meet, posters in Patna demand pivotal role for Nitish

Posters calling for assigning Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a big role in national politics were seen in several parts of the state capital on Tuesday when the JD(U) leader was away in Delhi to attend a crucial meeting of INDIA bloc.

The JD(U) came out with a quick clarification that it had nothing to do with the posters, wary of upsetting the supreme leader who has been at pains to assert that his efforts at forging opposition unity were not guided by personal ambitions.

Ally RJD, on its part, made it clear that the primary goal was to defeat BJP in Lok Sabha polls and if, in the process, the CM landed the top job, it would be "a matter of pride for Bihar".

"It is not known who has put out the posters. But its message of 'nishchay' (resolve) is something none can find fault with", said JD(U) chief spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar.

He was reacting to the posters with two images of Kumar, one taken from the side and the other from behind with a pithy Hindi slogan "agar sach mein vijay chahiye to phir ek nishchay chahiye" (to ensure victory, a united resolve is needed).

The word 'nishchay' (resolve) was highlighted, bringing to the people's mind seven resolves ('saat nishchay') of the Nitish Kumar government, a bottom-up development model of the socialist leader who takes pride in his track record as the state's longest-serving chief minister.

Speculations are rife that at the meeting in the national capital, parties may agree to name the septuagenarian as convener of the fledgling INDIA coalition to bring a degree of cohesiveness to the multi-party formation.

Notably, Kumar had hosted the first meeting, here in June, of leaders opposed to the BJP from across the country and the acronym INDIA was agreed upon at the subsequent conclave held in Bengaluru a month later.

Most leaders of the coalition, including Kumar, have been of the opinion that by virtue of being the largest party, the Congress, which is also a junior partner in Bihar's ruling Mahagathbandhan, should be at the forefront of the national conglomerate.

However, sources in the Mahagathbandhan concur that there may be a call for a rethink in the backdrop of recent assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where Congress performed badly and also ended up riding roughshod over allies like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Meanwhile, the RJD, which is the largest constituent of the Mahagathbandhan, and seen as a staunch Congress ally by virtue of personal equations between its founder Lalu Prasad and the Nehru-Gandhi family, said it was okay with the posters even if these were put out by the JD(U).

RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari said, "Every party likes to see its leaders to rise. Even if Nitish Kumar's party had put out the posters, there is nothing wrong. If our chief minister becomes the PM, it will be a matter of pride for every citizen of Bihar."

He, however, hastened to add "these are secondary things. Our leader Tejashwi Yadav has stated on the floor of the assembly that he was happy discharging his duties as the deputy CM and not in a hurry to succeed Nitish Kumar. Both leaders came together to oust the BJP from power. The feat has to be replicated nationally".