A Mission Hobbling In A Hurry

• Too Much Light: Resentment brewing against Prashant Kishor as critics say CM gives him too much space and hypes him

• Mission-Bound: Govt committed to spend Rs 150-200 cr every year as establishment cost of Kishor's Bihar Vikas Mission

• Big Goals: The mission seems to face an uphill task of implementing in a few years what was not achieved in 60 years

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The idea of delivering to Biharis in five years what successive governments failed to deliver in 68 is so mind-boggling, it is no surprise the ambitious Bihar Vikas Mission (BVM) has been greeted with barely concealed contempt and scepticism. But the mission and its head—election strategist Prashant Kishor, now an advisor to CM Nitish Kumar and holding cabinet rank—continue undeterred.

The BVM is a special purpose vehicle created to speed up development. Its recruitment test to choose management associates requires a 750-word essay on how professionals can act as force multipliers in governance and a 1,000-word write-up on how candidates’ skills and experience match the responsibilities stipulated for the post. Those who get past this first hurdle will possibly be asked to make a detailed presentation before being appointed, say sources.

Notified in January, the BVM aims to find solutions to, and resources to deal with, the state’s chronic problems. Only three per cent of Bihar's population, for example, have access to tap water. A specific challenge BVM has set itself is to bring piped water to every village. But the first year is likely to be spent in rec­ruitment and training, so results are unli­kely to be visible in the near future.

This experiment in governance, deta­ils of which are not yet in the public dom­ain, has expectedly run into bureaucratic res­istance. Many bureaucrats are seeking deputations somewhere else—or even early retirement. Media reports say senior bureaucrats resent Kishor sitting to the left of the CM and attending state executive meetings. But some bureaucrats dismiss such criticism, saying, “Participation of younger professionals and fresh ideas should be welcome.” Opp­osition parties, however, have kept up a steady barrage of criticism.

Mangal Pandey, the BJP’s state president, says, “Kishor now has an official agreement with the Congress in Punjab and he is meeting Rahul Gandhi on Uttar Pradesh. So what can be said of Kishor’s commitment to Bihar?” BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, too, wonders why Kishor could not be inducted into the ministry if Nitish wanted to utilise his services.  They seem to object to Kishor being virtually inducted into government and yet being left free to dabble in politics outside the state for other parties.

While attempts to speak to Kishor failed, sources close to him claim that Kishor does not plan to stick to the BVM forever. “He has stuck out his neck and taken enormous risk. If the BVM fails, he will be out in the doghouse. But he actually believes in changing the way governments function. Therefore, if he succeeds, it will change the entire paradigm and he will be on a roll,” explains a bureaucrat who has interacted with him.

But JD(U) MP and ex-diplomat Pavan S. Varma rubbishes “BJP propaganda” against Kishor. He says the mission was ambitious and difficult. “Such ambitious projects need huge administrative effort and support and Kishor is working in tandem with bureaucrats,” he says.

Details available so far speak of the BVM setting up programme management units in the districts to work as facilitators and “force multipliers”. It seeks to simplify systems, find solutions and resources to execute plans. Sources close to Kishor point out that none of the 40 towns in the state has a Master Plan because none of the districts has town planners. They also cited the CM’s ambitious plan to bring skill development efforts to 10 million youth. Although the plan was announced three years ago, it is yet to take off. “Clearly, the administration is unable to cope with the challenges despite the assistance and leadership of IAS officers,” says a source.

But Kishor’s meteoric rise in the state has fuelled scepticism. “Kishor can only add frills and colour to a campaign, he can give twists and turns. Today’s voters are not the voters of the 1980s, they don’t care about freebies any more and they won’t get swayed by tweets,” quipped an observer from Madhubani.        

Meanwhile, Kishor’s growing proximity to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress drafting him in as a poll strategist for the Uttar Pradesh elections has not gone down well among old Congressmen. But Kishor’s supporters  within the Congress says Rahul Gandhi appeared more confident after their meeting. “For 28 years, we are losing elections in Uttar Pradesh. Since 1989 we have been sliding. In 2009, we won 22 Lok Sabha seats, almost the same as the SP and the BSP. That should have translated into 100 seats in the ass­embly polls, but we won only 29 seats. So for the Congress, any help will be welcome, even from Kishor,”  says a senior Congress leader from the state.