The Hindu : National : Bakhtiarpur rejoices in success of the native

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Wednesday, Nov 23, 2005

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National

Bakhtiarpur rejoices in success of the native

K. Balchand

JD(U) leader's mother still remembers the antics of her son as a kid; his brother exudes confidence

IT'S THEIR DAY: JD(U) supporters celebrating the party's victory in the Assembly elections, in Patna on Tuesday. _ PHOTO: RANJEET KUMAR

BAKHTIARPUR: The people of Bakhtiarpur in Nalanda district were as ecstatic as his family members were humble on Tuesday in the emphatic victory of "one among us" as the next Chief Minister of the State.

While Parmeshwari Devi still recounts the antics of her son, the villagers underline the rise of the village boy who climbed the ladder to be the man that Nitish Kumar is. After a failed effort, Mr. Kumar stands to be the Chief Minister on a sound footing the second time round.

"Oh, he was naughty as a kid. He would throw things in the well. He has changed a lot since. But as a boy he was a good student," recounts his mother. He graduated as an engineer from the Patna University — which also put him on the road of politics.

Mr. Kumar's mother was not sure that her son would eventually make it to the top post underscoring the obstructions that he had to face from time to time. She had prayed for him and now was confident that he would shoulder his responsibility towards the State and earn a name for himself.

Mr. Kumar's elder brother, Satish Kumar, underscored the difficult task ahead but was confident that he would succeed in his mission and usher in development and prosperity across the State.

Prayers answered

Other villagers carried on "akhand path" praying for the next-door-boy's victory. They were happy that their prayers had been answered. Joy abounded all over the village and across Nalanda district as a whole.

The villagers hoped that he would come down with a heavy hand on corruption and not only develop the village but the entire State. While some thanked the Election Commission for the free and fair election, others expressed gratitude to the LJP for not being part of the UPA and dividing the vote.

A product of the JP movement, Mr. Kumar was a close associate of RJD supremo and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and LJP chief and Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. The three way battle between these three friends has brought him to the centre stage of the State.

After two defeats in the Assembly elections, Mr. Kumar's first entry into the Bihar House was in 1985 from Harnaut constituency and made it to the Lok Sabha in 1989 from Barh. He was a Minister of State for Agriculture in the V.P. Singh government and played a crucial role in the Janata Dal playing the Mandal card to counter the BJP's kamandal gamble.

But as his relations soured with Mr. Prasad, he formed the Samata Party and tasted a bitter defeat in the 1995 Assembly elections. That compelled him to join hands with the BJP. He went on to hold the Railway portfolio under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership.

Mr. Kumar sniffed power in 2000 but stepped down within a week upon failing to muster the necessary numbers in the undivided Bihar. Rabri Devi returned to rule the term.

He returned to Central government politics to hold, among others, the Railway portfolio, which he lost with the defeat of the NDA government in 2004.

In the aftermath of the deadlocked verdict, Mr. Kumar came very close to forming the next government but Mr. Paswan "back stabbed me." The other effort to break the LJP never reached the flash point with Governor Buta Singh dissolving the Assembly and calling for elections.

That may well have been a blessing in disguise as Mr. Kumar no longer needs to rely on a bundle of forces having successfully led his alliance to a resounding victory. The 54-year-old Mr. Kumar could not have asked for anything better for all the effort he had put in over a decade to score a point over his friend-turned foe Lalu Prasad.

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