In his twilight years, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has agreed to allow his son Nishant Kumar to enter politics. In the aftermath of Nitish moving to the Rajya Sabha, his son is likely to represent him as the deputy Chief Minister of Bihar as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) takes control of the state government with a CM from within its ranks.
The consensus opinion within the ranks of the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], however, is that Nitish never trained his son to inherit his political legacy but was seemingly forced to fall back on him as a last resort.
Paternal Pangs
Insiders in the JD(U) stress that Nishant Kumar was deeply attached to his mother Manju Sinha, while his relations with Nitish have been known to be distant.
Nishant pursued his engineering degree at BIT Mesra in Ranchi, where he studied alongside the sons of several other politicians. They are all known to have struggled in their studies. This is evident from the fact that they are not widely known for having secured jobs in reputable institutions.
Nishant’s mother is widely known to have stayed at her Kankarbagh residence in Patna. Until her death, Nishant stayed with her.
It goes to the credit of Nitish that his family members didn’t partake in the luxury that political power brings. JD(U) insiders state that Nishant began staying with his father only after his mother's demise.
Nishant is No Akhilesh Yadav or Chirag Paswan
Nishant is known for his simplicity and shyness. Both are rarely counted as attributes of a successful politician. That he has never seen elections from close quarters is also well-known. On Sunday, 8 March, he marked his official entry into Bihar politics as he formally joined the JD(U) at the party headquarters in Patna.
Since Nitish Kumar crafted his image as a non-dynast politician, he never took interests to introducing Nishant to politics. The political ideal of Nitish has been Karpoori Thakur who had also kept his family away from politics.
Unlike other contemporary socialists who carved out political turfs due to caste-based politics, Nitish proved to be an idealist until the BJP persuaded him to exit the power centre in Patna.
Leaders like the late Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, and the late Ram Vilas Paswan, had arguably been more pragmatic, for they had introduced their children into politics when they were at the prime of their respective political careers. Thus, Akhilesh Yadav honed his political skills while his father was still calling the shots in UP politics. The same was true for Chirag Paswan.
Both Akhilesh Yadav and Chirag Paswan are hardened by rough politics of their respective states. They inherited the political legacy of their fathers and eventually the followers of their political parties. But this cannot be said for Nishant Kumar.
Nitish Kumar's 'Chura-Bhujja' Parties
Nitish Kumar usually spent his evenings surrounded by key political aides from his party. Since he has been widely known to have stayed away from his family, his way of passing time had been to indulge in political gossiping at what are known as “chura-bhujja” parties at his 1, Anne Marg residence.
“Chura-bhujja” is a popular evening snack in Bihar—and Nitish has been particularly fond of discussing state and national politics while savouring on these local favourites in the company of the likes of Vijay Choudhary, Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh, Ashok Choudhary, Sanjay Jha, and a few others. This coterie is now said to have influenced Nitish against his own wishes to draft Nishant Kumar into politics.
Nitish Kumar’s eccentricities had been bringing blushes for his party as well as the BJP. He is widely believed to be struggling with his health conditions. That explains why Bihar’s most maverick politician eventually agreed to exit the hot seat of power in Patna.
In his last term, the JD(U) had won just 43 Assembly seats in Bihar. Yet, he completed the full term as the Chief Minister. But within a few months of a fresh mandate that that proved his appeal in Bihar, Nitish Kumar has had to exit for a Rajya Sabha seat.
Nitish has said that he would keep a close watch on the new government that will take shape in the next few weeks. But the unanswered question is—how will he keep a close watch when he could not protect his own CM position within four months of a fresh mandate?
The most logical outcome seems to be that Nitish Kumar’s “chura-bhujja” companions will hold the remote to control the JD(U)'s influence in the new government with the BJP in the driver’s seat. This gains more credence from circumstances surrounding Nishant—a complete lack of political experience, as well as no exposure to administrative works.
What the JD(U) Should Worry About Now
Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha have emerged as the most powerful blocks within the JD(U), commanding significant influence over Nitish Kumar. Lalan Singh had become a bête noire of Nitish Kumar a few years ago. He patched up later to come back to his close coterie.
Sanjay Jha is also widely known to have been close to the late Arun Jaitely. Both Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha are known to have close relations with Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, too. It is also well-known that Shah is minutely watching the affairs of Bihar. That should alarm the JD(U) old hands who swear by Nitish Kumar's socialist credentials.
(The author is a senior Delhi-based journalist, who has worked for India’s leading English dailies while reporting on Indian politics This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author's own. The Quint does not endorse or is responsible for them.)