Nitish flexes political muscle as he embarks on 'Adhikar Yatra'

Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister, is planning to organise an ‘Adhikar (rights) Yatra’ in the streets riding on the power Janata Dal (United) has garnered after the exit of Trinamool Congress from UPA-II.

The Chief Minister has embarked on a major roadshow from today and is planning his every more very carefully.

“I have made it clear that I will support any Party who grants special status to Bihar. It is clear that without the help of 40 MPs from Bihar there will be no government at the Centre,” he said at a rally last week.

The demand for special status for Bihar is not a new one. But after the shift in power at the Centre and the potential for early elections, Kumar has snowballed his demand into a public spectacle and has been able to garner a large number of followers.

It is no wonder that the CM is criss-crossing Bihar these days to encourage people to join the first-ever mass rally in the state, since the JD(U) came to power. This has struck a chord with the people as the demand for the special status also comes with the promise of more jobs and additional infrastructure in all sectors of the state.

The ‘Adhikar Yatra’ comes on the heels of Narendra Modi’s Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra, which is being seen as a clever political move by the Gujarat CM to augment his image as a mass politician.

The Bihar Chief Minister’s Adhikar Yatra could also be an assertion of his political strength to the BJP and UPA, and giving them the message that he is not to be taken lightly ahead of the next general elections. With the BJP not having declared its future Prime Ministerial candidate yet, and Kumar’s fierce opposition to Modi, the rally is likely to be closely watched by the BJP’s leaders.