New Delhi, September 29 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar already has the distinction of the state’s longest serving premiere. If he returns as the head of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and serves for a full five-year tenure, he will be one of the top-three longest-long-long series of the Chief Ministers of India.
However, the other two – Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim and Naveen Patnaik of Odisha – have the distinction of staying in the office for more than 24 consecutive years. As was done by Jyoti Basu of West Bengal, who left the post after serving for 23 years and more than four months.
Keeping the Bihar assembly elections in mind, in October, Nitish Kumar must have given a cumulative tenure of 19 years and eight months, and counted. And he still wants to become a leader for all seasons. However, in the ‘First-Past-The-Post’ electoral system, where a candidate is declared the winner from a constituency, even though there is a difference of one vote on the mandate for the runner-up, many factors stand on their way.
In the 2020 assembly elections, Chirag Paswan’s candidates were largely contributed to the factor when their Lok Janati Party (LJP) allegedly divided the supporter-supportive votes. The candidates of the Janata Dal (United) led by Nitish Kumar were allegedly defeated in many constituencies.
In at least 30 seats, LJP candidates, even if they lost, collected votes, which were more than the margin between the winning candidate and the JD (U) runner-up.
However, Paswan is still keeping his card closer to his chest, not accusing Nitish Kumar of rule and political stability, as he had done for the final assembly elections.
The actual position will become clear after the NDA seat-sharing formula is clear. And, once a colleague and now a strong critic, Prashant Kishore is allegedly creating an independent political base with his recently launched Jan Suraj Party (JSP).
Kishore is accusing his former boss and administrative deficiencies and corruption government. Nitish Kumar was once honored as “Susashanbabu” or “Mr. Good Administrator”, which is facing allegations on governance, development and other delivery from other opposition parties as well as other opposition parties. In addition, at the top of the cases there is an anti-sports factor after a long time, where they have been accused of political flip-flop, which have been attempted to remain in power.
In 2010, he won 115 out of 141 seats in the Bihar assembly elections in an alliance with Bharat Janata Party (BJP).
In 2015, JD (U), along with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), crossed the alliance as part of the Janata Parivar alliance, supported by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. His candidates managed to win 71 out of 101 seats, the party selected to contest the election.
However, he again abolished the sides, before the words could be finished, and the BJP was supported.
Another slide was seen in the 2020 election, in which JD (U) ended as the third largest party, which was behind the friend-child RJD, and Alliance Partner BJP in that order.
Nitish Kumar’s party succeeded in winning 43 out of 115 seats, while the BJP chose 74 out of 110.
Meanwhile, RJD returned to the assembly as a single-half party with a seat compared to the BJP, where it had placed candidates in 144 constituencies.
In 2015, his switch was considered an expression against Narendra Modi’s choice as Prime Minister, where he played a major role at the Center after the victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In addition, Nitish Kumar was declaring every election as his final, but has continued uncontrollably in the office. All ‘Flip-flops’ gathered against the septuagenian leader. Late, allegedly, he is demonstrating the effects of years and perhaps administrative pressures.
His son, Nishant had some rumors, stepped into his shoes before this year’s assembly elections, which were denied staunch by JD (U) leaders.
Till now, it seems that 74-year-old Nitish Kumar wants to prove that he is a man for all seasons despite being in autumn-not in winter-not of his political life.
,
JB/and