PATNA: Noted poll strategist Prashant Kishor has said that though Nitish Kumar is the main actor behind the latest political drama in Bihar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav will actually run the new Mahagathbandhan government in the state.
Kishor also said that “this era of political instability has been ongoing for the past 10 years, and this is in that direction. Nitish Kumar is the main actor, catalyst…As a citizen of Bihar, you can only expect that he stands firm on the formation he has now built.”
Talking about the political instability in the state, Kishor added, “I see what’s happening now in the context of the era of political instability in Bihar. Since 2013-14, this is the 6th attempt to form govt in Bihar. Formations are changed when one’s political or administrative expectations are not fulfilled.”
He expressed hopes that this new formation (JDU and RJD) lasts, and its priorities should be in sync with people’s aspirations. “What needs to be seen is whether or not the new govt will function better than the previous govt,” he noted.
Talking about people’s expectations from Tejashwi, Kishor said, “Tejashwi Yadav is the leader of the single largest party in Bihar, and probably he will play a major role in running this new formation. The people will be able to see how he functions in this new government.”
The remarks from the election strategist came little ahead of Nitish Kumar’s swearing-in as the chief minister of Bihar on Wednesday afternoon for a record eighth time. Kumar will be administered the oath of office by Governor Phagu Chauhan at a simple ceremony inside the Raj Bhavan at 2 pm.
Tejashwi Yadav, whose RJD helms the Grand Alliance that elected Kumar as its leader on Tuesday, is also scheduled to be sworn in, with him returning as the deputy chief minister for the second time.
Earlier, it was understood that only Kumar and Yadav will be taking oath though sources in the multi-party Grand Alliance now hint at the possibility of “three to five” ministers being sworn in.
Besides JD(U) and RJD, the Congress is expected to be represented in the new cabinet. Left parties CPIML(L), CPI and CPI(M) have expressed their intention to support the new government from outside.
Kumar had on Tuesday quit the BJP, stripping the party of power, before resigning and staking claim to form a new government, armed with the support of the “Mahagathbandhan” (Grand Alliance).
The 71-year-old JD(U) leader first took oath as chief minister in 2000, when he headed an NDA government that lasted only a week. He was back in 2005, this time with his coalition having won an absolute majority in the assembly polls.
The NDA won a landslide victory under his leadership in the assembly polls five years later. Kumar stepped down in 2014, owning moral responsibility for the drubbing of JD(U) in the Lok Sabha polls, but returned less than a year later when he was sworn in for the fourth time.
In 2015, Kumar was back as CM, with the Grand Alliance then comprising the JD(U), RJD and Congress winning a comfortable majority. He resigned in July 2017, citing irreconcilable differences with the RJD, and got sworn in again less than 24 hours later, when he formed a new government with the BJP.
Kumar was sworn in for the seventh time in November 2020, when the NDA retained power, though his own party saw a major fall in its tally for which it blamed a “conspiracy” by the BJP.
Bureau Report
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