The belief got further strengthened by his son Nishant Kumar urging the people of Bihar to vote for his father as he has done a lot of development in the state. As if this was not enough Nishant urged Modi to name Nitish Kumar as the chief minister and that the government should be formed once again under his leadership. Indeed, the most shocking was his proposition to JD(U) leaders to project Nitish as the public face of the NDA in the ensuing assembly election.

Modi addressing him as Ladle (pampered child) has not been appreciated by the social and academic circle of not only Bihar, but a major section of Bihari intellectuals and academics active in Delhi. They view it as a deliberate attempt to show Nitish as a junior leader who does not have any political stature of his own. For his survival, he has to depend on BJP and especially Modi. These people interpret it as a calculated move of saffron ecosystem to damage him, who is viewed as a more intelligent and shrewder politician, Chanakya of present day politics, and prove him of no political worth.

Though Nishant’s appeal is seen as his willingness to join JD (U) and nursing the desire to take a plunge in politics, seasoned politicians are finding it tough to endorse his stand and what he told to media. They question what made Nishant to call upon the people to vote for his father or tell the NDA leaders to entrust him with the task to lead the NDA to polls. According to him this simply creates the impression that Nitish could not gather strength to speak on the face of the BJP leaders and is also finding it difficult to carry the JD(U) leaders along with him. Nishant’s statement also strengthens the belief that JD(U) is a split house and it needed an neutral figure to espouse his cause. Obviously no one could have been better for this task than Nishant.

On Tuesday after paying homage to his late mother at an event in Patna in which CM Nitish Kumar was also present, Nishant while praised Modi for doing good work, he appealed to the people of Bihar, “I urge the people of Bihar to vote for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar as he has done a lot of development in the state. The public should ensure that we win more seats in the elections so that we can continue the pace of development. I also urge all the workers to take all the policies of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar among the people. The NDA should also announce that he (Nitish Kumar) is the CM face. The government should be formed again in Bihar under his leadership”. Nishant specially appealed to the youths of Bihar; "I will request youth to support and vote for my father to increase the number of seats in the assembly polls so that my father continues development work".

Quotient of political survival has turned so delicate and weak that Nitish is not even bothered of accusation of pursuing the dynastic politics, of which he was a bitter critic in the past. Experts nevertheless nurse the view that if Nishant makes foray into politics, it would put Nitish in an embarrassing situation. Yet another factor that has compelled Nitish to bring his son in politics is the coercion of countering Tejashvi Yadav, son of RJD chief Lalu Yadav.

Nishant’s appeal is being viewed in the backdrop of Amit Shah’s reluctance to name Nitish as the public face of NDA. Some months back Amit Shah said that it had not been decided who would be the NDA's CM face for the Bihar assembly elections when he was asked if Nitish would be the chief ministerial candidate or if the BJP would adopt a strategy similar to Maharashtra where it changed the chief minister after the election outcome.

It is immaterial whether Nishant would prove to be a match for Tejashvi, however one thing is certain that Nishant could be used to counter his jibes and sneers. However, RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav said “It as an indication of the decline of Nitish Kumar as a mass leader and said that it would be better if he hands the baton to Nishant”.

Modi though accredited Nitish with Ladle (pampered), he did not mention in his speech what Nitish had done of the people of Bihar, instead used the opportunity to announce his own programmes and projects. He maintained silence on the demands made by Nitish. It was really interesting to note that while Modi talked about his gains and policies, Nitish counted his own achievements and programmes launched by him for the welfare of the poor.

Besides narrating his own achievements, coinciding with the release of financial support to farmers, Modi devoted a major portion of his speech to accuse Lalu. Noting the several measures undertaken by his government for the welfare of farmers, PM Modi said that those accused of fodder scam would never understand the plight of farmers. This no doubt boosted the image of Lalu. His accusing Lalu 'Ram Mandir-haters now maligning Maha Kumbh', according to the experts has helped Lalu to consolidate his image of a secular leader. These people feel Modi’s move to sound election bugle by attacking Lalu has backfired. The experts and even a section of the JD(U) leaders feel that farmers are aggrieved with Modi government not conceding their demand for MSP.

Modi was also caught on the wrong side by saying that the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar has eradicated the scourge of corruption in the state. They point out that the corruption is the flourishing industry and anti-socials and criminals rule the state. Paying cut money has become the rule. They argue Modi while releasing the 19th instalment of Kisan Samman Nidhi at the rally had emphasised that farmers need good seeds, cheap fertilizers, irrigation facilities, protection of animals from diseases and protection from losses during disasters, but unfortunately, they were being denied of these basic needs.

Even some top state BJP leaders feel aggrieved at Modi not complying to the request of the state for granting Special Category Status as promised and why are so many important projects lying incomplete. It may be recalled that the assembly had adopted a resolution for granting special status and forwarded that to Modi government. In 2015, the PM had promised a Rs 1.25 lakh crore package. Of this Rs 54,713 crore was earmarked for road and bridge projects. Several national highways, bridges over the rivers Ganga, Sone, and Kosi, and 12 railway overbridges were to be built. However, 27 of the 44 planned national highways are lying incomplete.

Since 2014, the year Modi became the prime minister, Nitish has been yearning for according status of Central University for Patna University. But Modi has no time to consider his request. But Modi talked of constructing Central University at Vikramshila in Bhagalpur.. Even the Buxar thermal power plant, whose MoU was signed by. As per the Centre's own Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report, Bihar ranks as the poorest state in India, and 52% of the state's population lacks access to requisite health, education, and living standards. But Modi has preferred to o overlook the plight of the Bihari people.

One thing is absolutely clear that Modi lacks a proper political perception and mind. While he has not been taking initiative to see the policies and programmes implemented at the ground level, he continues with the rhetoric of ‘jungle raj’, nursing the impression that people still hate Lalu. He is mistaken. Even the people who fought against Lalu and made fodder scam a big issue, today have come to feel that he was falsely and wrongly implicated by two national level BJP leaders in the scam. Ironically both the BJP leaders have been marginalised by Modi himself. (IPA Service)