Bureaucrat As Political Heir: Is Nitish Kumar Trying To Replicate Naveen Formula In Bihar?

Bhubaneswar: Is Pandian formula being adopted in Bihar? While former bureaucrat V K Pandian dominated the political turf in Odisha for a long time in the run up to the recent elections, ex-IAS officer Manish Verma is now in the limelight in Bihar politics. Amid talks of next gen leaders in the JD(U) taking up leadership positions, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has appointed Manish Verma as party general secretary. Verma joined the party on Tuesday. It is being said that Nitish is following the footsteps of BJD president and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Observers are of the view that that Manish is being groomed to become the political heir of Nitish. His appointment as JD(U) general secretary assumes political significance as it came ahead of the Assembly elections due next year in Bihar.

Who Is Manish Verma?

Manish is a former Odisha cadre IAS officer of 2000 batch who served as collector in several districts. An IIT Delhi alumnus, Verma moved to Bihar on an inter-cadre deputation in 2012 and never went back to Odisha. He was in Bihar on deputation from 2012 to 2021. He served as DM of Purnia and Patna and, in 2016, became the principal secretary to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. In 2021, when his deputation was over, he took VRS to stay back in Bihar. Nitish Kumar made him his additional secretary in the Bihar Vikas Mission, which looks after the ‘Saat Nischay’ flagship programme. Manish hails from Nalanda, the home district of Nitish. He also belongs to Kurmi caste. A close confidant of Nitish, the former bureaucrat was stated to have played a significant role in ensuring the good show of JD(U) in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.

Political Innings Of Nitish, Naveen

Both Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik took charge as Chief Minister of Bihar and Odisha respectively in 2000. While Nitish first became Bihar CM on March 3, 2000, Naveen took oath as Odisha Chief Minister on March 5, 2000. BJP remained a common factor in the political career of both the leaders. Naveen remained in partnership with BJP for over 11 years. In case of Nitish, it has not been a smooth journey with BJP as he had snapped ties with the saffron party in the past. While BJP ousted Naveen from power in Odisha in the recent polls, Nitish remains a partner in BJP-led NDA.

Pandian-Manish Similarities

Manish is not the first bureaucrat-turned-politician to come close to Nitish Kumar. The Bihar CM has a long experience of roping in bureaucrats. Naveen also had full faith in officers, be it Pandian or Pyari Mohapatra. Pandian had also become a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after taking voluntary retirement from civil service. He played a major role in BJD campaign for the recent polls. While Manish is tipped to become the number two in JD(U), Pandian remained number two in BJD. Pandian had got his cadre changed from Punjab to Odisha. Similarly, Manish had gone to Bihar on inter-state deputation.

Manish After RCP Singh

It is being speculated that Manish may become the political heir of Nitish Kumar. Similar talks were made regarding RCP Singh in the past. Like Singh, Manish has also been appointed as the national general secretary of JD(U). While Manish may become all in all, Sanjay Jha has been made the national working president of the party in a balancing act. Former IAS officer RCP Singh remained a close aide of Nitish for many years. Former bureaucrat Pawan Kumar Verma was also very close to Nitish. However, Pawan Verma and Prashant Kishore were removed from the party over their remarks on CAA. Observers wonder whether Odisha formula will benefit Nitish, who has been relying on bureaucrats to a great extent.