INDIAN politics seem to be taking a sensible turn in certain areas improving Centre-state relations. Five years ago Nitish Kumar would have been dismayed by any show of bonhomie between him and the then Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. He had even returned a cheque from the Modi-led government of Gujarat which was for flood relief. Nitish has now taken over as Chief Minister of Bihar and has sprung a surprise saying that he wishes to work with Modi for his state’s development. Modi has congratulated him on becoming Chief Minister of Bihar for the fourth time. Both Modi and Nitish are committed to development and Nitish has said that India’s uplift will not be complete without Bihar’s success. Nitish will do his best to speed up development in Bihar before the Assembly elections later this year. It may be recalled that he was in the NDA Cabinet under Atal Behari Vajpayee.
It is obvious that Nitish realizes that confrontation with the Centre will go against him to compound the anti-incumbency factor in the Assembly poll. His change in attitude is also a move to regain his image as ‘Vikas Purush’. He is of course keen on a quid pro quo from the Centre-grant of special category status to Bihar. Modi has already said that he will give special assistance to the state. Nitish Kumar wants the Centre to release over Rs. 11,000 crore to Bihar for the implementation of proposed schemes in his state. It is hardly surprising that Kumar wants a prompt meeting with the Prime Minister who believes in a united India for joint development.
