'Nitish can emerge as an alternative to Modi'

N K Choudhary is a noted economist, social activist and an academician. The professor, who recently retired as principal of Patna College, is known to call a spade a spade. In a no-holds-barred interview with Abhay Kumar of DH, the outspoken educationist says Nitish Kumar could be an alternative to Narendra Modi as he is the only regional leader with a pan-India presence. Excerpts:

 
Do you think Nitish’s insistence on prohibition is primarily aimed at fulfilling his national ambition, particularly wooing the women electorate?
Yes. It is purely aimed to fulfil his personal political ambition. In fact, he was the one who encouraged liquor consumption in villages and mohallas till last year through his excise policy. But when his core agenda of good governance and development took a backseat due to certain political compulsions, he found this new issue to further his interest. By raking up prohibition, he may be eyeing a larger political space in national politics. That’s why he didn’t bother about the revenue loss to his state.
 
Can Nitish, given the limited strength of the JD(U), ever emerge as an alternative to Narendra Modi?
No doubt, Nitish has a fair chance. He has in mind the fragile Opposition and the weak Congress at the national level. He has seen the experiments of Deve Gowda and I K Gujral.

On the other hand, no other regional leader has any pan-India appeal. Mamata is confined to Bengal, the ailing Jayalalithaa is confined to Tamil Nadu, Mulayam Singh has hardly any presence beyond Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Naveen Patnaik has no base beyond Odisha.

Given this backdrop, I feel, Nitish has started projecting himself strongly as an alternative to Narendra Modi by addressing a series of public meetings across the country. Nitish’s only drawback is he represents a party with limited political strength. This could be a major roadblock.

Can Nitish make an impact on UP or is he just trying for sweet revenge? A tit-for-tat for what Mulayam tried and failed during Bihar polls.
As of now, I personally feel that he won’t be able to have any major impact in UP.

He had earlier made an unsuccessful bid in Delhi, Jharkhand and Kerala. But his current strategy to get a foothold in UP, where he does not have a single MLA, appears to be a part of his political strategy to prove that he is ready to move beyond Bihar.

Do you think the recent episodes surrounding Shahabuddin and Raj Ballabh Yadav have dented Nitish’s image?
These two cases have badly tarnished Nitish’s image, who, otherwise, was seen as the one who enforced rule of law in Bihar. However, of late, a perception has been created that he can compromise to any extent for his political survival.

In fact, the Supreme Court observation in Shahabuddin’s case was a serious indictment of his government.  Shahabuddin episode has exposed him completely.

Similar is the case with Raj Ballabh Yadav (the legislator charged with rape), who was set free recently. People never expected this form of compromise from Nitish.
 
What perceptible changes have you noticed from when Nitish was CM in alliance with the BJP, to now with Lalu and the Congress?
Earlier, he was much stronger and had complete command over his administration. During his previous two regimes, the BJP played second fiddle without ever challenging his leadership. But now the political situation in the state is different.

Two power centres have emerged. Today, Nitish can’t afford to take any major decision ignoring Lalu Prasad. Besides, he has to deal with the Congress, which may be a marginal player and has to be kept in good humour due to certain political compulsions.

Do you foresee Tejaswi eventually taking over from Nitish?
Why not? J&K, UP and Odisha are examples of the next generation chief minister taking over the reins and running the government with equal elan. However, in the case of Bihar, it’s too early to say so. Most likely, Tejaswi’s name will be floated as future CM by the next Assembly election. This is precisely why the RJD leaders keep insisting that Nitish should play a larger role at the national level.