There are indications the BJP might lose Bihar. Should that end up being the case, that will be testimony to the enormous sophistication of the Bihari voter. They gave the country a Prime Minister last year. This year looks they might give the country the Opposition Leader in Nitish Kumar. Modi and Nitish are easily the two most talented politicians on the Indian stage today, both having stellar records on economic growth issues.
Last year, Modi was the only one running for Prime Minister. Rahul was not running. And there was no such thing called the Third Front. No wonder Modi won. This year in Bihar Nitish has been the only one running for Chief Minister. How can you win if you are not even running? Who was running to be the BJP Chief Minister? The most likely candidate, Sushil Modi, sounded like he was never happier than when he was deputy to Nitish. By his own admission Nitish is the superior political talent.
But a Bihar loss might not be such bad news for Modi. He will still likely win Uttar Pradesh next year. And he might still sweep Bihar in 2019, as long as delivers and takes the economic growth rate to 10% plus by then.
India is the most vibrant democracy on the planet. India is not China. An Opposition Leader is a good thing.
