#dnaEdit: Losing the plot

For those who believed that Nitish Kumar was Bihar’s answer to decades of stagnation and misrule, a sense of deja vu would have crept in over the past nine months. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s rebellion against the Janata Dal (United) leadership might have ended in a whimper but both the JD(U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be hard-pressed to explain their respective stances during the fortnight-long unsavoury episode. Doing an Arvind Kejriwal, Nitish has apologised to the people of Bihar for resigning in May and installing Manjhi in his place. One can expect Nitish to make several more rounds of this apology in the run-up to the assembly elections, which is hardly eight months away. But unlike Kejriwal, who was forgiven by Delhiites, it is unlikely that Nitish can expect a similar indulgence, considering that the circumstances of their resignations were vastly different. While the accusation against Kejriwal of running away from responsibility was at best a political slogan for opponents, considering the fragile nature of the Aam Aadmi Party’s alliance with the Congress, Nitish’s act of stepping down will be viewed more seriously.

The only plausible explanation Nitish can offer is that he was stung by the BJP’s victory in Bihar during the Lok Sabha elections and resigned to rebuild his party. But no amount of apologising will recompense his act of placing a puppet Chief Minister in place. Nitish chose Manjhi, a staunch loyalist, over a more qualified candidate like Sharad Yadav at the time. Moreover, Nitish stepped down at a time when Bihar needed his steadying influence more than ever. According to Central Statistical Organisation figures, Bihar’s GDP growth rate has consistenly remained in double digits since 2005. But after a high of 15.05 per cent in 2012-13, the signs of decline were becoming evident with a steep fall to 8.82 per cent in 2013-14. Already, there is criticism that Bihar’s phenomenal GDP growth rates had more to do with starting on a very low base and the liberal central government monetary assistance for infrastructure development leading to a boom in the construction sector. Such criticism notwithstanding, robust infrastructure is the precursor to development, and Nitish got at least that much right. However, Manjhi, who quickly revealed his political ambitions, could never get down to the task of governance. What ensued was a government where ministers and bureaucrats pulled in different directions during the Nitish-Manjhi tussle.

The BJP, which played a solid sheet-anchor role as the junior ally in the eight-year-old Bihar NDA government, has equal bragging rights for the administrative improvements Bihar has witnessed. Rather than driving home this point and highlighting the chaos in the JD(U) government, the BJP appears to have shot itself in the foot through supporting Manjhi’s underperforming government. The BJP’s initial backing to Manjhi was a masterstroke, but driving a wedge within a rival party and engineering defections are two different ball games. The BJP should have pulled back the moment it realised that the numbers clearly didn’t add up for Manjhi. From the victimisation of a Mahadalit, the issue had morphed into a larger one of unconstitutionally propping up a minority government. In the end, when Manjhi accepted reality and chose to resign without testing his strength in the assembly, the BJP had no gains to show other than allowing Nitish a chance to play victim. With little left of the assembly’s tenure and the JD(U)’s governance record in tatters, Nitish can be expected to indulge in populism and social engineering. The tense standoff having reinforced their reputation for brinkmanship, Bihar’s politicians have salvaged little else of value to face voters in November.