Aishik Chanda
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was seen with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani flagging off ‘Jan Chetna Yatra’ from Sitab Diara village, the birthplace of the legendary socialist leader Jaiprakash Narayan on October 12. According to him, the motive behind starting the yatra from Bihar is to give a strong message of political credibility and good governance. Making his stand clear as a secularist, the poster boy of good governance asserted, “flagging off an anti-corruption yatra cannot make (him) communal”.
“Advaniji may have taken out his previous yatras on other subjects but this one is exclusively devoted to anti-corruption. It is very relevant and starting it from JP’s (Jai Prakash Narayan’s) village on his birth anniversary makes it even more important against the backdrop of the legendary leader’s 1974 Total Revolution call,” said the chief minister before flagging off the 38-day yatra, that would culminate in New Delhi on November 20.
The incumbent Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar was born in Bakhtiyarpur, 50 Kilometers from Patna. His father Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh was a freedom fighter and was close to the great Gandhian Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the founders of modern Bihar. He has a degree in electrical engineering from National Institute of Technology, Patna. Nitish Kumar belongs to a socialist class of politicians. He learnt the lessons of politics under the tutelage of stalwarts Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Kapoori Thakur, S.N Sinha, George Fernandes and V. P. Singh. He participated in JP’s movement from 1974-77.
He was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1985 as an independent candidate. In 1987, he became the President of the Yuva Lok Dal. In 1989, he became the Secretary- General of the Janata Dal in Bihar. During his tenure as the Railway Minister, he brought widespread reforms. On 3 March 2000, Nitish Kumar was appointed the Chief Minister of Bihar, but he resigned seven days later because failed to prove majority.
Its is speculated by many that the starting of the yatra from Bihar maybe a moral support by L.K Advani to Nitish Kumar as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 General elections for the National Democratic Alliance. The NDA has still not announced the prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections but the two most powerful candidates for the top job are Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi. The hardliners in the party prefer Narendra Modi but the some parties in the alliance are supporting Nitish Kumar due to fear of losing precious Muslim votes if they support Narendra Modi. 
The biggest opportunity for Nitish Kumar is that the parties like Telugu Desam Party, Biju Janata Dal and Asom Gana Parishad, which are traditionally anti-Congress are wary of alienating minority support in BJP’s company but would be happy embracing NDA if Nitish Kumar is at the helm. Apart from his proven record in winning Muslim votes, he is winning, like Modi, in the politics of development as well.
As an administrator, he has addressed critical areas ranging from restoration of law and order to health, repairing and laying roads, completing the construction of long delayed bridges, appointing over 1,00,000 school teachers .He has put most of the goons of Bihar behind the bars due to which crime rate has reduced drastically. As a leader, he has pushed targeted social welfare schemes. He has the support of each and every caste and community in Bihar. According to his acolytes, if Nitish can make Bihar a functional state, he has the potential to change India too on behalf of NDA. But when asked about talks about him being portrayed as a Prime Ministerial candidate, he replied, “Honestly speaking, I have not even thought of myself as a prime ministerial candidate. In fact, I do not even consider myself qualified enough for the job. I am happy working for Bihar. I am serving the country by serving Bihar.”
Nitish Kumar’s biggest disadvantage is his electoral base. His party Janata Dal (United) is a regional party and has a supporter base only in the state of Bihar. His party has only 20 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. His biggest threat is that Modi can say that as the largest party, the Prime Ministerial post should be with the BJP, even if he is not appointed to the post. A wait of three more years will show us who would lead the country.
Sources: The Times of India
Wikipedia
India Today
Gone with the wind 