While toasts are raised in South Block over PM Narendra Modi's successful Nepal trip, the BJP too has every reason to cheer the unexpected dividends the unpredictable River Kosi has brought the party in Bihar.
As the three-day crisis of an unstable newly-formed lake on the Sun Kosi tributary threatening to flood Bihar comes to an end, locals this paper spoke to praised Mr. Modi for the way the crisis concluded. More importantly, none had much to say about the Janata Dal (United) government which spearheaded the relief effort.
While much of the public opinion in favour of the BJP in these parts may not be well informed, the PM's new fans in the State may affect the verdict in 10 seats facing by-polls on August 21.
Peasant Jagdev Yadav is one of the scores of evacuees sheltered in make-shift tarpaulin tents above the embankments flanking the Kosi Bridge. "I am a supporter of Lalu (Yadav) ji, but he has lost his clout. Do you ever remember any leader going to Nepal and stopping Mother Kosi? Modi is the strongest leader we have," he told The Hindu .
Yadav's mother Aruna Devi is not satisfied with the relief efforts. "Nitish is only giving us puffed rice. He made us move for no reason as there is no flood now."
The support for the PM, whose visit to the new republic coincided with the flood alert, is not confined to simple peasants. "The Nepalese press is full of praise for the PM," a police officer from Bhimnagar--the last Indian post before Nepal--told this paper. "Every year we are at the mercy of Nepal. This time they took extra efforts to see that we don't have flash floods, thanks to the PM's visit."
Restaurateur Pyare Khan said, "The sadhus who frequent the river during the monsoon are saying that it is because of Modi’s gift of 2500kg of Sandalwood to the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, that Mother Kosi spared us. Why didn't earlier prime ministers think of doing this?"
Jale assembly segment of Madhubani Lok Sabha constituency in the region is one of the seats going to the polls. The election was necessitated by the defection of former BJP MLA VK Mishra to the JD(U).
Madhubani based social activist Nalini Kant told this paper that if the calamity was not a natural one, it would have seemed like a conspiracy. "It is going to be Hindutva-mobilisation versus caste consolidation in these polls. But the way the Central Water Commission raised the scare of imminent deluge and the timing of the PM's visit has definitely turned public opinion in the BJP's favour.
