What was meant to be a simple order for 10, Circular Road has been made an issue of politics by Rabri Devi, who is defying the chief minister. The bungalow has been put in the name of Dairy and Fisheries Minister Nand Kishor Ram, but she has no intention of leaving.
What triggered the confrontation
Some months back, even before Samrat Choudhary was in the top job as the state’s first BJP CM, the building construction department put a new rule in place: from then on, the 10, Circular Road property was to be for a deputy chief minister only.
With that in mind, they went ahead and allotted it to Nand Kishor Ram. Rabri Devi, for her part, was told to make do with a house on Hardinge Road. She didn’t and has stayed put in the bungalow.
Key developments so far:
– A new policy put the house in the deputy CM’s court
– Nand Kishor Ram was given the allotment
– Rabri Devi said no to moving out
Rabri Devi’s pushback and political message
‘He can have me evicted by force. I am not vacating this place,’ she told some reporters at the Patna airport when she was back from Delhi. She also had a word for Choudhary, saying he seems ‘quite excited’ since he became CM.
She made her comments from the car, even putting a hand to the mics at one point. She was in town after a trip to Delhi for her grandson’s birthday. As for her husband, RJD head Lalu Prasad, he is in Singapore for some medical care.
There is more to this than a case of administration. Rabri Devi will be the first to point out that Choudhary cut his teeth as a minister in her cabinet. It’s a tussle over state property, but with a good deal of personal history in the mix.
Why the address matters in Bihar politics
You can walk to Raj Bhavan and the CM’s place from 10, Circular Road in no time. It is more than just an address; for the RJD it has been a nerve centre of sorts.
An earlier Nitish Kumar regime put the bungalow in the family’s hands. Over the years it has been where the RJD’s first family has lived and where the opposition has held its meetings and done its outreach.
Lalu Prasad, whom she followed as CM for eight years between 1997 and 2005, is there with her. So any forced move would be loaded with symbolism.
What comes next
You can expect the row over the accommodation to heat up. The department has made its position on the deputy CM clear, but the person in the bungalow is not making any moves.
Now it is a matter of whether the administration will follow through with the order for Nand Kishor Ram or try to work something out. There are risks in either direction with a new chief minister in charge.
Stakeholders at the centre
You have Rabri Devi on one side, the opposition leader holding her ground. Then you have Choudhary’s government, which is standing by its decision to give the house to Nand Kishor Ram. How this is resolved will tell you a lot about how things are run in Bihar these days.
