Nitish Kumar’s statewide Samadhan Yatra was a rehearsal for the 2024 general election campaign even as ambitious ally RJD and an aggressive BJP wait in the wings
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar at Shivsena village, Lakhisarai district, during the Samadhan Yatra on February 7; (Photo: Ranjan Rahi)
It was 4 in the evening on February 7 and the winter light had begun to fade. Nitish Kumar’s team started looking a tad anxious, but the Bihar chief minister, otherwise a stickler for time and routine, seemed oblivious, enjoying his extended public interactions in Munger district that day. According to the itinerary, though, he was two hours behind and the helipad in Sheikhpura district, from where he was to take the 30-minute chopper flight to Patna, was 80-odd kilometres away.