Patna,(BiharTimes): The resignation drama has raised some very pertinent questions: what has the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar achieved and what has he lost?

On Sunday he succeeded in getting public assurance from none else but agriculture minister, Narendra Singh, who was till recently considered as the leader of dissidents. His absence from the Thursday cabinet meeting had already fuelled the speculations about his role. It was also rumoured in the media circle that he had met former deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi or some other BJP leaders.
Secondly, Nitish has succeeded in further marginalizing the party chief Sharad Yadav, who went to the extent of seeking help from RJD chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav.

His supporters openly raised slogans against Sharad and reports suggested that many MLAs openly opposed any tie-up with the RJD. Some of them even heckled Ramai Ram, one of the ministers, who expressed his anger in Thursday’s cabinet meeting.

Sharad, according to sources close to him, was in favour of Bijendra Yadav, as the successor of Nitish. But it appears that he has been silenced.

Not only that Nitish managed to get assurance from the Congress, whose leader Shakeel Ahmed, announced that the four MLAs of the party would continue to support the state government. Besides, a couple of Independents also assured support to his government.

Though Nitish took the step to pre-empt any likely rebellion, yet it seems that he has to pay a price for this move. If he succumbs to the pressure from his legislatures and once again become the chief minister he would certainly lose the high moral ground which he wishes to adopt. His critics would then say that the whole exercise had a political motive.

But if he insists on his resignation and a new successor is elected than there is hardly any possibility of Nitish once again becoming the chief minister in near future. The situation is somewhat different from August 2, 1999 when he resigned as the raiway minister after a horrendous accident just before the Lok Sabha election, but only to return to the Vajpayee government a few weeks after the poll.

Today the JD(U) is on a very weak wicket and once he leaves the throne there is hardly any chance of making a comeback.
Some political observers are of the view that since Nitish has taken the battle against Narendra Modi far too long it would be very difficult to see eye to eye with the new prime minister in the days to come. But he must have realized this fact much earlier and should have been prepared for the defeat too. After all only one person can become the prime minister and Nitish was actually not at all in the race.

If he does not want to be the CM of Bihar when NaMo becomes the PM then he should bid good-bye to politics and must not succumb to the pressure.