Nitish Kumar’s party is on the backfoot over special status.
Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in the Lok Sabha that Bihar could not get special status, putting Nitish Kumar’s party on the backfoot politically. Big party leaders are either avoiding saying anything on this or reminiscing about the old days. Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, a minister in the Nitish government and a prominent JDU leader, has even given up the special state status and demanded a special package. A special package will also do the trick, says Chaudhary.
However, Nitish Kumar’s party’s stance on special status was not what it used to be. In 2010, when Manmohan Singh’s government rejected the demand, Nitish Kumar toured across Bihar and protested against it. In 2012, Nitish Kumar organized a rally against the Center at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Not only this, at that time Nitish Kumar also termed the Centre’s special package as an illusion. In such a situation, the question arises that what has happened now that Nitish Kumar’s party has gone on the back foot on this issue.
Why is Nitish Kumar’s party on the backfoot?
1. He is the kingmaker at the center and there is no government on his strength.
Janata Dal United won 12 seats in 2024 elections. The JDU is the third largest party in the NDA government at the centre. The largest party, BJP, does not have an absolute majority, but the government is also not based on JDU.
Even if the JDU withdraws support, the health of the Modi government will not be affected for now. Nitish Kumar also knows this very well, that’s why JDU leaders are not saying anything more about it.
2. Poor position of JDU in Bihar Assembly
Nitish Kumar’s party is the third party in Bihar assembly. JDU currently has 44 MLAs in the assembly. The JDU has faced a crushing defeat in the by-election recently held in Rupauli, Purna.
Despite his weak position in the assembly, Nitish Kumar is still the chief minister. The BJP has also announced to contest the 2025 assembly elections under his leadership. For this reason, Nitish rarely ventured anywhere. Because on the other hand they have no such offer.
3. Bihar has a debt of about 3 lakh crore rupees
In response to a question in 2023, the Center said that Bihar has a debt of around Rs 2.93 lakh crore. Bihar had a debt of 1.90 lakh rupees in the year 2020. This is almost equal to Bihar’s budget. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar has recently announced Rs 2 lakh each to 94 lakh families. It is being said that money is still needed for this.
This assistance can only be given by the central government and currently there is a BJP-led NDA government at the centre. Nitish does not want to raise much voice for this reason as well.
Nitish has been demanding special status since 2005
Since becoming the chief minister in October 2005, Nitish Kumar has been demanding special status for Bihar. Nitish’s party also ran a signature campaign for this. In 2012, under pressure from the Bihar government, the Center had to form a committee of ministers. However, this committee said that special status cannot be given to Bihar. Bihar government has 4 arguments behind this demand-
1. Bihar shares its border with Nepal, due to which the state faces floods every year. In fact, Nepal is located at a higher altitude than Bihar and every year during the rainy season water is released from Nepal, causing floods in the areas of Seemanchal and Mithilachal.
2. 96 lands in Bihar belong to marginal and small farmers. These lands cannot even be cultivated due to floods. According to the state government, 15 out of 38 districts suffer from floods every year.
3. In the year 2000, Bihar was bifurcated and a new state called Jharkhand was created. All natural resources and industries were wiped out from Bihar due to partition. This position is very important for new investments. Employment situation in Bihar is very bad due to lack of industry.
