HE COMES GRINNING TO BECOME CM

HE COMES GRINNING TO BECOME CM

5-DEC-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------When election season arrives, a dozen leaders in Bihar spruce up their kurtas and vests and get all spruced up. They put up huge hoardings on the streets of Patna... and get their PR done on television channels as if there's no more qualified candidate in Bihar than them. But when the elections are over, it seems that, except for one or two, all the leaders of Bihar are just chewing tobacco. They go to Parliament to eat the canteen's halwa and when they are in their constituencies, they act like old-fashioned leaders among the people.

It is Bihar's misfortune that these same leaders are kept at the center of every discussion. On television and YouTube channels, elaborate promos are made before their interviews, showcasing their faces as if they are the saviors of Bihar. But if you look at their work, it's negligible. Each of these leaders has been a minister in the central government for 10 years. If anyone asks them what their achievements are in the name of Bihar? They sit in the high command's courts like sycophants. Have these boastful leaders ever persuaded their high command or fought for Bihar's rights for any project?  Show me a single example of that. They have been ministers in the central government for 10-12 years and are doing nothing in the name of Bihar, and when elections come, they will put on such a show as if the whole of Bihar is smitten with them and they are the contenders for the Chief Minister's post.

Forget Bihar, even in the areas they represent, the constituencies from which they are elected, there is no example of them ever holding a meeting with bankers, administrative authorities, or businessmen to develop industries. It is the responsibility of a public representative to monitor all these things: if an entrepreneur is facing any technical problems in business activity or employment generation in any area, if they are not getting any kind of approval, if there is any vacant industrial land and someone wants to set up a project on it. But why don't they play this role?

They win the election and go to Delhi... they return from Delhi to Patna and are welcomed at the airport... they go to campaign for their party. That's all they do.

These days, old speeches given by Nitish Kumar in Parliament are going viral. Listen to them and think about why Nitish Kumar became Nitish Kumar. The way he factually presented his arguments on policy matters in each of his speeches, and the number of projects he secured for Bihar while he was a central minister, and the projects he brought to Bihar through his ministry, all of that enhanced his personality. It instilled confidence in the people of Bihar that this is the person worthy of being the Chief Minister of Bihar. Even before becoming Chief Minister, he had already made his mark as a Member of Parliament and a central minister. Only then was he declared a candidate for Chief Minister, and what he did after becoming Chief Minister is evident to everyone.

But look at the speeches given in Parliament by all the central ministers who are currently vying for the Chief Minister's post, or look at their work; they don't even come close to Nitish Kumar. And when elections come, they start saying that they will become the Chief Minister of Bihar. Our question is, with what face do they want to become the Chief Minister of Bihar?

The picture is of Nitish Kumar from 2005. We want this kind of argumentative leader who can confront anyone in Parliament on the issues of Bihar. Currently, only one or two such leaders are visible; the rest are like tobacco chewers. I won't name them.