Nitish Kumar: Potato of politics

During the 2020 campaign for the Bihar Assembly elections Chirag Paswan the heir to the late Ram Vilas Paswanrsquos legacy broke away from the National Democratic Alliance and fielded candidates in only those seats which Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumarrsquos Janata Dal United was contestingPaswanrsquos strategy was to deny Dalit votes to the JDU He was widely suspected to have been the pawn of the Bharatiya Janata Party eager to cut Kumar down to size for his past betrayal and ensure his party did not emerge as the biggest among the NDArsquos constituentsIn case Paswanrsquos plot succeeded would the BJP claim the post of chief minister I had taken this question to political scientist Professor Rakesh Ranjan of Patna University Ranjan said the BJP would still let Kumar become the chief minister Why Because Kumar is the potato of politics the professor repliedPotatoThatrsquos right When two dishes match in savouriness the one with the potato acquires a bounce a tastier edge The BJP had 41 more seats than the JDU yet it allowed Kumar to become the chief minister The BJP knew he would be as acceptable to the Rashtriya Janata Dalled Grand Alliance as he was to the NDACall it the potato syndrome of Indian politicsCook the potato with any vegetable or with mutton or chicken or add the potato to the recipe of biryani and none of these dishes would be fundamentally transformed in taste Likewise whether Kumar is in the NDA or the INDIA alliance neither would undergo a radical change in character The NDArsquos Hindutva flavour is not altered because of Kumarrsquos presence or absence The notion that the INDIA alliance represents the idea of composite culture will persist even without KumarImagine the potato with a mind and overweening ambition and you will have understood Kumarrsquos somersaultsThe potato is rich in carb and low in protein perhaps the reason behind its popularity as a side dishmdashFrench fries and mashed potatoes for instance Kumar has been the chief minister of Bihar since 2005 but for a gap of eight months For all his strivings he has not been able to expand his base to the point where he can come to power on his own to become a soughtafter standalone dish so to speak such as the cauliflower or mutton curryKumar suffers the potatorsquos unenviable fate On a table with five dishes even a savoury potato preparationmdashfor instance the aloo charchari chorchori in Bengal the stirfried potato dish popular in Biharmdashis seldom the biggest draw The potatorsquos popularity today is largely as a filling in the samosa as a mix in the chaat as a stuffing for the paratha Likewise Kumar must be in one alliance or another to retain his importanceBut the two dominant alliancesmdashthe one led by the RJD and the other by the BJPmdashtoo require Kumar for coming to power It was for this reason the RJD conceded the chief ministerial chair to Kumar even though it had more seats than those of the JDU in 2015 and 2022 The BJP did the same in 2020 and now in 2024 These two formations cannot do without him as the samosa cannot with the potatoKumarrsquos importance though is now steadily declining From the high of the JDU winning 115 seats in 2010 its tally came down to 43 in 2020mdashquite like the potato losing ground in recent years because of people heeding the medical advice that its consumption increases weight and aggravates the sugar level in the prediabetic No wonder the steamed momo is threatening to replace the aloo samosa in popularityThe potato is hobbled by its inherent properties So is Kumar whose Kurmi caste is just too small in Bihar to count decisively He courted the categories of Extremely Backward Classes and MahaDalits but found many of his supporters have veered away to parties anchored to one small caste or another Quite a few have acquired a liking for the saffron When the spread on the table caters to the separate tastes of a medley of guests the potato as a dish is the first choice of fewOnce it was said ldquoJab tak samosa mein rahega aloo Bihar mein rahega Lalu As long as the samosa has the potato Bihar will have Lalurdquo But Kumar has had a longer tenure as chief minister than Lalu Prasad Yadav whose popularity outstrips the formerrsquos by a marginYadav unlike Kumar has not made ideological compromises for power He and the BJP have to be alternative choices for voters just as butter chicken and mutton curry cannot be mixed together to create a new dishIdeological compromises are built into Kumarrsquos politics for his ambition is incommensurate with his popularity From one alliance to another he must shift in order to remain in power His paranoia over being dethroned has grown as he has weakened with time Just like old soggy potatoes melt into the gravy and lose their distinctive identity so will likely the JDU in a year or soThe writer is a senior journalistSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper