In response to Nitish, NDA to write open letter to Biharis

The letter, to be written by the NDA’s Bihari leaders, will mention that Modi was not talking about ‘Bihar’s DNA’ but the ‘political DNA’ of Nitish Kumar. The letter will also ask a few uncomfortable questions of the Bihar chief minister, reports Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who wrote a sharp open letter on social media to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latter’s comment about his DNA, will soon get a reply in the form of an open letter addressed to the people of Bihar. 

It will not be written by Modi but by the the National Democratic Alliance’s Bihari leaders, including Sushil Kumar Modi and Ram Vilas Paswan.

The letter will mention that Modi was not talking about ‘Bihar’s DNA’ but was pointing to the ‘political DNA’ of Nitish Kumar. The letter will also ask a few uncomfortable questions of Nitish Kumar.

Modi's 'DNA' comment has come in handy for Nitish Kumar, who is turning it into an opportunity to arouse Bihari sub-nationalism as he has done in the last two assembly elections. The 'DNA' controversy also helps Nitish Kumar to consolidate his regional identity.

Biharis are highly politically sensitive and if the PM’s DNA barb percolates down to the voters then it would be a clear advantage for the ‘son of the soil’ Nitish Kumar.

His PR team, which is headed by Prashant Kishor, is trying hard to sell Nitish’s image on social media and in Bihar. Kishor had handled Modi’s election campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha election through the Citizens for Accountable Governance. 

Kishor has now reportedly launched the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC). Its Facebook page claims that it is 'India’s first cross-party advocacy group which endeavours to support the election of visionary, progressive and inclusive leaders to public offices'.

Nitish Kumar does not want to miss the opportunity to make the 'DNA' quote into a big debating point because the more he takes the battle to PM Modi, the more the media and people would forget about Lalu Prasad Yadav. That suits Nitish Kumar who is finding it difficult to share a stage with Yadav even though they are political allies now.