New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was interested in making Prashant Kishor his political heir, but he was eyeing the post of deputy chief minister post and was in a “hurry”. His decision to hold a caste survey was influenced by former chief minister Karpoori Thakur and reinforced by former president Giani Zail Singh, while his support for women’s reservation was influenced by Lohia political thought.
A movie buff, Nitish watched Rajendra Kumar-Sadahna starrer ‘Mere Mehboob’ thrice but favourite film is Raj Kapoor starrer ‘Teesri Kasam’.
All these anecdotes are from the book — ‘Nitish Kumar: Antarang Doston Ki Nazar Sae’ — written in Hindi by his college friend and Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) vice-president Uday Kant Mishra.
Nitish’s contemporary and RJD chief Lalu Prasad had released the book at a function which was attended by the Bihar chief minister’s college friends Arun Sinha, Narendra Singh and Kaushal Kishore Mishra in Patna.
Influence of socialist icons
Many of Nitish’s welfare programmes were influenced by socialist icons Ram Manohar Lohia and Karpoori Thakur, the book says.
“One of unfulfilled desires of Karpoori Thakur was caste census. Nitish Kumar was aware of it. When Nitish Kumar became a minister for the first time in1990, he was allotted a house near Teen Murti near Chankayapuri on Circular Road. There were three-four ‘kothis’ (mansion) on this road, but he was not aware of neighbours.
“One day, one of his staff informed him that a neighbour wants to meet him. Nitish said, ‘In Bihar, nobody takes permission to meet his neighbour. There is no requirement of any formal request. Whenever he wants to meet, he can come’,” the author writes.
Nitish inquired about the occupant of No. 4 kothi and was informed that it was none other than former president Giani Zail Singh. Soon, he went over to Singh’s residence and sat down for a talk.
“Zail Singh suggested to me that I put pressure on Parliament to seek a nationwide caste census. I had never heard a view with such clarity on this pressing issue except Lohia. Soon after I started work to put pressure to demand a caste census though discussion in Parliament and writing letters. I was encouraged after hearing Giani Zail Singh’s views on caste census, which made my views more strong to address this issue,” the writer quotes Nitish as saying.
Before he entered the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1982, Zail Singh was the Punjab chief minister from 1972 to 1977. The Congress veteran — the seventh president of India — came from the Ramgarhia backward community.
The Bihar chief minister, meanwhile, is of the opinion that there has been huge demographic changes in 90 years and that if a caste census takes place, there will be changes in reservation too.
It was under Nitish that the Bihar assembly passed resolutions in 2019 and 2020, requesting the Centre to hold the 2021 Census on the basis of caste. In August 2021, he led a delegation that met the prime minister to press for a caste census. Bihar then launched a caste-based survey in January this year, but it was put on interim stay by the Patna High Court in May.
Maverick Lalu
The writer presents extensive details of Lalu, his public life and, more importantly, the relationship with Nitish that dates back to four decades when the two met in Patna University.
‘In 1991, Patna became the most watched seat for the Lok Sabha polls. Lalu was the chief minister. (I.K.) Gujral filed his nomination as Janata Dal candidate while Yashwant Sinha was candidate from Chandra Sekhar’s Janta Dal Secular. C.P. Thakur was contesting on Congress ticket. Shailendra Nath Srivastava was the sitting MP from the BJP. For Lalu, it became a prestige to ensure Gujral’s win. Lalu deployed every trick to win this seat,” Mishra writes.
“Patna has a sizable number of Kayastha voters. There were two Kayastha candidates — Sinha and Srivastva. Thakur was a renowned doctor. Gujral was considered a lightweight candidate. … It was Lalu who found ways in difficult situations. He sought votes claiming that Gujral is from Gujjar community and that in Punjab, Yadav is called Gujjar,” it adds.
After complaints of poll malpractices, Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan countermanded the election in Patna but the news did not find prominence in dailies as it came in the wake of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the book says.
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When Sharad Yadav faced Nitish’s ire
Among other facets of Nitish present in the biography is his fervour of championing issues concerning women.
“When the women’s reservation bill was introduced, Mulayam and Lalu were against reservation while (JD(U) president) Sharad Yadav was also expressing his views against the bill. When I met Nitish Kumar on 6 March (in 1996), he was on a call with Sharad Yadav. Nitish told Sharad: ‘Change your outlook about women. Women are not objects. Women in many sense are far better than men. They only need one opportunity. This is the time to write history and fulfil Lohia’s dream. I will not come into useless debate on this issue. Our party will support this bill’. He then hanged the phone. Neither his tone was tough, nor he used harsh language — but the message was clear,” the writer recollects.
On 13 September 1996, Mishra writes, Nitish in his speech mentioned that his party was “ready for any sacrifice” to give rights to women and added that the rights of those from backward classes should also be taken care of.
On Bihar’s journey of becoming a dry state, the book mentions: “The seed of Nitish’s prohibition order was laid in his early years after seeing the condition of women. Once during his Janta Darbar, some women met Nitish to bring to his notice their misery as their husbands used to beat them after drinking. Even his past experience made the resolve stronger when Nitish’s jija (brother-in-law) used to drink and he had to listen to him. These things moved Nitish to implement prohibition in the state.”
‘Saw his childhood in PK’
Prashant Kishor’s bonhomie with Nitish was once talk of Bihar politics in 2015 and their ties blossomed further when the poll analyst joined the JD(U), became its vice-president and was made advisor to the Bihar chief minister.
The book gives insight to less-known details of this camaraderie that later ended on a sour note with PK’s exit from JD(U) in February, 2020.
“Prashant Kishor, who handled the JD(U) campaign in the 2015 assembly election soon after coming to Patna, stayed with Nitish in his house,” it mentions, adding that he became close with the CM’s old friend Kaushal Kishore Mishra.
“Prashant started the campaign of Har Ghar Dastak at 10,000 places in 2015. Even Nitish Kumar visited 20 houses in Patna to reach out to people. This was a new way of campaigning started by Prashant Kishor. Nitish was eager to implement Sapt Kranti in governance after the election verdict. Nitish, Kaushal, Kishor had done brainstorming to launch the new programme of governance. Nitish chose the name of Saat Nischay, as it was coined at 7, Circular Road — his residence — by seven people,” it says.
“After the result in 2015, Lalu won 80 seats while JD(U) won 71. The RJD was eyeing a bigger chunk of departments. After realising his past mistakes, Nitish started to use Prashant to deal with Lalu. Even Lalu was fond of Prashant as he used to meet with full preparations to convince him,” the writer recollects.
“As is his nature, Nitish was not vocal, but he was trying to give Prashant due respect without the latter’s knowledge. An agreement was arrived at in Mahagathbandhan to give Prashant the post of cabinet minister, but his expectation was big. RJD was aiming for deputy CM’s post. Prashant was also aiming for a similar post from JD(U). Nitish was well aware of Prashant’s capability, but his opinion was to use Prashant for expansion of the party in different states.
“He wanted Prashant to start building the organisation from Jharkhand, but PK was least interested. Nitish was interested in making Prashant his political heir. In Prashant, he sometimes saw his past. He started to take Prashant in every function. Prashant used to sit along with Nitish in every function which annoyed many senior leaders. He even took Prashant to his native Kalyan Bigha village on his father’s death anniversary… but Prashant was adamant and not interested in expansion work of the party. They later both fell out,” the biography reveals.
Beni Prasad Verma recommended RCP to Nitish
Another love-hate relationship featuring RCP Singh, too, finds mention in the book that gives vivid details of how Nitish met with the former bureaucrat-turned-politician, courtesy Samajwadi Party leader Verma.
“When Nitish came to Delhi in railway (ministry), it was Beni Prasad Verma — one of seniormost Kurmi leaders from UP — who recommended RCP to Nitish. Soon, he (RCP) became one of close associates of Nitish. He was working as the chief secretary and was considered his Sudarshan Chakra, but before the 2009 Lok Sabha election, RCP expressed his desire to fight the election from Nalanda,” it says.
Nitish was worried as he felt that he had to devote more time to campaign in Nalanda to ensure Singh’s win, it adds.
“…even RCP’s wife Girija Devi was putting much pressure (on Nitish) for a poll ticket. At last, it was decided that Nitish will send him to the Rajya Sabha and on 8 July 2010, RCP took oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. Nitish sent him for a second term in 2016. Nitish was so confident that he made him the JD(U) national president but RCP disappointed him. He nominated himself for a cabinet berth as the president of the party,” the book says.
There was a growing suspicion that he was working for the BJP and ultimately he was denied Rajya Sabha ticket, it adds.
Singh resigned from the party in August 2022 and later joined the BJP in May next year. While joining the ruling party, the one-time Nitish confidant slammed the Bihar chief minister as ‘palti maar’.
”No minister takes so much interest in the personal life of his secretary. Once RCP in 2003 got admitted in Delhi railway hospital. Nitish was so impatient that several nights, he went to see him in hospital. He even stayed back one night to oversee his condition. Nitish was the railway minister at that time in Vajpayee government,” the writer recalls.
Movie buff & avid newspaper reader
“Our love of watching films started in college. I have seen ‘Mere Mehboob’ 11 times, Nitish 3 times at least. We have seen Raj Kapoor starrer ‘Andaz’, but Nitish liked Raj Kapoor’s ‘Teesri Kasam’ the most,” the BSDMA vice-chairman recalls.
Narrating the CM’s fondness of movies, Mishra mentions two incidents from 2009 and 2010. “On 2nd March 2009, EC announced dates for the Lok Sabha polls. The model code of conduct was implemented. Nitish had heard about the film (Slumdog Millionaire). Since the code was in place, he was not able to use an official car for personal work. So, he took a rickshaw. After watching the film, he called his friends to tell them to watch the film.”
The next year in January, he went with his friends to watch Aamir Khan’s film 3 Idiots, the writer adds. ”After watching 3 Idiots, he introduced Kaushal (Kishore Mishra), Arun (Sinha) and himself as three idiots to reporters present outside the cinema hall.”
Giving details of Nitish’s habit of reading newspapers, Mishra narrates: “Nitish’s fondness for newspapers is special. If anybody touches the newspaper before him, his mood gets disturbed. He needs a fresh piece of the entire bundle. He reads the entire newspaper, has least interest in reading about himself. He only searches for complaints, or where he finds fault in governance.”
This, the book adds, is followed by telephone calls to officers regarding the complaints he read in the newspapers.
Other lesser known facts revealed by the buiography included Nitish’s dislike of food cooked outside and his love of potato dishes.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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