At an impressive public rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar pressed his case for “special category” status for Bihar so that the state may get greater Central assistance. This is an important enough issue that the Centre should consider, for large states like Bihar — by virtue of their size and population — will drag down the national effort if they are not suitably assisted at a moment when India is trying to push its growth rate and development indices at a pace unknown in its history.
But it was also clear that the Bihar chief minister hadn’t mobilised on such a vast scale in the nation’s capital to make a point — no matter how essential — about a single state. Seen in the national context, Mr Kumar was making a point and counter-point relevant to our political universe, and both of which might be relevant to the outcome of the next general election.
The chief minister’s short point is that his support will go to the Centre if it speedily grants Bihar special status, which has been hinted at in the Economic Survey and the Budget presented recently. (The Survey has apparently modulated eligibility conditions for special status to fit Bihar’s arguments.) At the rally, JD(U) president (and NDA convenor) Sharad Yadav noted that the erstwhile NDA government at the Centre had promised Bihar special status, but did not deliver. Seen in conjunction, the observations by Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav leave little to the imagination. By mobilising Delhi’s Bihar population — apparently one fifth of the total — Mr Kumar also obliquely hinted that his backing was needed for the Congress to retain Delhi.
Then the counter-point. This appears to keep in the frame Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s unbridled ambition of being named the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. The Bihar leader pointedly noted that a “model of development” (in order to be called that) must take all sections into account. This won’t be lost on Mr Modi or the BJP, whose new refrain is the “Gujarat model of development” that promises prompt facilities to industry, while it has arguably come at the cost of jobs, protecting the interests of farmers, and the poor, especially women and children. Mr Modi too helped frame himself in counter-juxtaposition to Mr Kumar by speaking at a conclave hosted by a newsmagazine the night before the Bihar leader’s rally. This offers the contrast — that while Mr Modi has spoken from “elite” forums, Mr Kumar has spoken standing among the poor. Seen overall, daggers are ready to be unsheathed.