The Hindu : National : "A vote for change and governance"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 23, 2005

National

National

"A vote for change and governance"

Gargi Parsai

We will explode the myth that Bihar is non-governable, says Nitish Kumar

NEW DELHI: The mandate in Bihar is a vote for "change" and "governance", the victorious National Democratic Alliance (NDA) chief ministerial candidate, Nitish Kumar, said here on Tuesday in his first reaction to the Assembly poll results that brought to an end 15 years of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) rule in the State.

Flanked by JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and BJP's Arun Jaitley, Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Mr. Nitish Kumar, however, parried questions whether the State would have a Deputy Chief Minister and if `tainted' MLAs would find berths in the new Cabinet. "You will know when the Cabinet is formed," he said adding, "but first the legislators have to elect their leader."

It was not until after 12.30 p.m. when the trends revealed more than a clear majority for the Janata Dal (United)-Bhartiya Janata Party combine that Mr Nitish Kumar stepped out of his house to address mediapersons who thronged every nook and corner of his driveway. Cool and collected, he was seen asking party revellers to take it easy.

Call from Prime Minister

Even as he was speaking to the press, he received a congratulatory call from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "That was the Prime Minister. He said the Centre would extend all cooperation to the State," he said.

Asked whether the newly elected government would pursue (fodder scam) cases against RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Mr. Nitish Kumar asserted that there would be "no vendetta or confrontation."

"Laluji is like my elder brother. I expect cooperation from him. This is a moment of satisfaction for us. We are not going overboard with joy at our victory and accept it with all humility and gratitude to people."

Stressing the need for "nav nirman" (re-construction) of Bihar, the JD (U) leader, who was closely associated with Jaya Prakash Narayan's student movement, said the priority of the new government would be to bring back the State on rails.

"Bihar's governance is a big challenge and an onerous responsibility. Work would have to begin from day one. In this process we would take all people along without any discrimination of caste, creed, community, religion or sex and try to live up to their expectations," he said.

The former Central Minister said the NDA would come out with a Common Minimum Programme (CMP). On the issue of reservation for dalit Muslims on which there is a difference of opinion with the BJP, he said that the issue had to be dealt with at the Central government level. It would not come in the way of the CMP with the BJP as there were no differences on minority welfare.

Praise for poll panel

He was all praise for the Election Commission for the manner in which Bihar elections were conducted.

"The myth that elections would not be fair and free in Bihar was exploded this time. We will explode the other myth that Bihar is non-governable by providing good governance," he said.

Asked to comment on the forthcoming final verdict of the Supreme Court on the dissolution of Bihar Assembly in March, Mr. Kumar said, "The people have given their verdict. Their decision is supreme."

Later at the party office, Mr. Fernandes said the party was fully behind Mr Nitish Kumar. "The results are the culmination of a 12-year-long struggle. Finally truth has triumphed."

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