Two kilograms of chuda (beaten rice), 250 grams of sugar, a small packet of salt, a bottle of mineral water and a packet of milk powder to prepare 1kg of milk - Nitish Kumar has specifically prescribed these in each food packet being sent to quake-hit Nepal from Bihar.

The chief minister on Wednesday personally inspected several of the packets at a Bettiah relief centre to ensure his "prescription" is followed. While checking the packets, Nitish suggested the rescue team: " Packaging ka kaam poori pavitrata se honi chahiye, khaane peene ke samaan ke saath puri savdhani varti jani chahiye (Packaging should be carried out with utmost purity. Caution should be resorted to in dealing with the eatables)."

Nitish, speaking like an expert on the people's taste and eating habits in Nepal, said: "Nepal people love chuda and the Champaran region is known for fabulous quality of chuda. So, Bettiah (headquarters of the West Champaran district) was best-suited to dispatch the food packets to Nepal."

The government has set up a relief centre at Bettiah to dispatch 5,000 food packets - prepared on Nitish's specifications - everyday besides medicine, blankets and other basic necessity items from Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur.

"He (Nitish) is not behaving like a chief minister. Rather, he is behaving like the chief rescuer. His attention to details and utmost involvement in the relief operations have even baffled the professional rescuers," said a senior IAS officer accompanying Nitish at Bettiah. The water resources minister, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary whom Nitish has deployed on special duty in the Champaran region, supplemented: "Nitish ji has fully involved himself in the relief work. We are simply working on his instructions."

Nitish is all set to face the test on his survival as the chief minister within six months. "But he has totally switched off from the electoral politics, so crucial for us. Let us see, when he gets back to the political mode. We are a anxious lot," said a senior JDU functionary. "A political leader should be pragmatic too," he added. Nitish's functioning in the context of the devastating earthquake in Nepal on Saturday that shook Bihar and other parts of India resembles what he had done during the unprecedented floods in the Kosi and Seemanchal region in 2008. Nitish had camped for weeks supervising the relief operations in the regions earning accolades from the international agencies and reaping electoral dividends during the 2009 Lok Sabha and the 2010 Assembly elections.

A few in the ruling establishment feel that Nitish's involvement in the 2008 flood rescue operation paid off because most of the flood-affected voters of the state. "The epicentre of the earthquake is in Nepal. It has suffered the maximum devastation. Nitish cannot expect the same dividend this time," an official said.

But undeterred by all these scepticism and cynicism, Nitish has suspended all his other activities for supervising relief operations. Even his close aides don't hazard the guess when he would be back to his normal functioning as the leader of a party going to polls within six months.

Nitish was in New Delhi to meet Mulayam Singh Yadav and other Janata parivar functionaries to decide on the name, symbol and the flag of the new party made up of six parivar factions, including the RJD and the JDU, when the earth shook on Saturday. He immediately came back to Patna and straightway involved himself in relief operations. Holding review meeting with officials, hitting the streets to soothe the nerves of frightened people and then moving out in the districts to inspect flood relief operations became the part of his routine that is still continuing.

In between, the RJD boss, Lalu Prasad, came to Patna announcing that name and symbol of the new party would be announced on April 28. "Yesterday (Tuesday) was April 29. He has so far refused to take a call on the political issues," said an RJD MLA close to Lalu. Engrossed in the relief operations, Nitish has not cared for responding to the barbs from his rivals. It is pertinent to point out here that the top leadership of the BJP - his main rival - too has been very cautious while commenting on Nitish. Though the BJP has not suspended its political activities and is carrying out the membership drives in the hinterlands, its Union ministers Ananth Kumar and Radha Mohan Singh, who inspected the flood relief operations on Wednesday, confined there comment to "the state government and the Centre are cooperating with each other in the context of natural calamity".

Earlier, the Union home minister, Rajnath Singh, who visited the thunder squall-hit Purnea ahead of quake, praised Nitish's relief work. He returned the favour, lauding the Centre.

The second-rung leaders of the BJP - MLA Prem Kumar and state BJP chief Mangal Pandey - have occasionally attacked Nitish for "poor relief operations". But the chief minister has not cared to respond to them.

The fringe rivals of Nitish, including predecessor Jitan Ram Manjhi and Samata Party leader P.K. Sinha are busy firing from all cylinders on Nitish. "The Nitish government is in the grip of corruption at lower level. The relief material are not reaching on the ground-level," Manjhi said.