- Methodical, hands-on approach to administration. Understands nitty-gritty of development schemes.
- Arrives in the secretariat by 10 am and stays till late evening. Personally oversees pet projects and schemes.
- Holds durbars where he himself scrutinises public complaints and passes these on to the ministers and officials concerned.
- Has taken up improving law and order in the state as top priority.
- Many dons in jail after convictions by fast track courts. Thousands arrested under Arms Act.
- No Laloo-style flamboyance for the media. Is correct and dignified with the press.
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"I am a methodical man. If there is anything on earth I hate, it is genius. Your geniuses are all arrant asses."
—Edgar Allan Poe
Nitish is also trying to alter other political traits that have left such a mark on Bihar society. Patna residents are stunned at the manner in which political dons are landing in jail, one after the other. Figures like the notorious Shahabuddin of Siwan have finally been convicted, and there is now a strong buzz that JD(U) MP Prabhunath Singh may get a long jail term. The results are there for all to see. There has been a sharp drop in crimes like kidnapping for ransom in just two years. The CM himself says: "Please see the numbers of those who have been arrested under the Arms Act." One of the state's top police officials says Nitish believes it's possible to change the image of a state where every small goon walks around with gun-toting guards.
Can he, though? According to Krishna Deo Yadav, member of the CPI(ML) central committee: "Laloo destroyed the state while laughing loudly, Nitish is smiling gently and destroying the state." Neither, he argues, has addressed the crux of Bihar's problem—the redistribution of land. Nitish did set up a commission to look into land reform, but its report has been buried quietly. Any development initiative, therefore, can at best bring about cosmetic changes. But then, politicians bringing about radical transformation is never the norm anywhere—and it might be unfair to judge Nitish against that. In Bihar, to even try and build a road or pick up a health system from a shambles can be seen as an achievement of sorts.
It is no surprise, therefore, that Nitish's opponents concede, albeit grudgingly, that he is currently on a good wicket and maintains a good image among all sections. Will it be cakewalk then for Nitish to trounce Laloo in the Lok Sabha polls next year? After all, the RJD, with 22 MPs, is one of the largest constituents of the UPA in Delhi. If Laloo ties up with Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP, he would have mopped up a chunk of the caste votes, making it difficult to counter merely with clean politics. But the RJD could well suffer losses. And, even as his opponents try to work out the caste math, Nitish himself is trying to rise above the electoral game and do the sort of things that have not, in the history of Bihar, reaped electoral dividends. He could well be rewriting the rules that have governed the fortunes of the state so far.
