Patna, Feb. 4: Was it red or was it saffron? Was it art or was it a stroke of politics? Chief minister Nitish Kumar's painting of a lotus at the book fair on Wednesday made tongues wag.
Some saw a shade of saffron as Nitish filled up a lotus, drawn by noted Madhubani painting exponent Baoa Devi, with a brush at the 23rd Patna Book Fair at Gandhi Maidan in the state capital.
Nitish had just inaugurated the event, which will continue till February 14, when Baoa Devi invited him to try his hand at the 12ft by 12ft canvas on which 27 eminent artists from 13 states would make a collaborative painting to portray the chief minister's seven resolves for a developed Bihar.
One of the artists invited to participate in the "Made in India Art and Craft village" chose the colour for Nitish in which the paint brush was dipped.
Lotuses are pink, white, yellow or blue, but many present at the event saw saffron in the shade that Nitish filled up the lotus with.
That sparked speculation - not very unlike the recent internet meme about whether a woman's dress was blue or gold - whether the "saffron" lotus was an expression of Nitish's subconscious (read leaning towards the BJP, which has a saffron lotus as its symbol).
One cannot blame the tongues that wagged. There has been feverish speculation over whether Nitish is warming up to his longtime ally BJP and growing distant to his present ruling coalition partners the Congress and the RJD. Especially with Nitish supporting demonetisation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi returning the favour by praising prohibition in Bihar and the successful hosting of the 350th Prakash Utsav or birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.
Asked whether the lotus revealed what is on Nitish's mind, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said: "I don't know, but one thing is certain that the best period or the golden period of his (Nitish's) life in politics was when he was in alliance with the BJP. He became the Union railway minister and thrice became the chief minister. The BJP fully supported him in all his endeavours. Nitish must be feeling this in his mind and at times it is reflected..."
RJD state president Ram Chandra Purbey pointed out that Nitish's political career was a product of the socialist movement and that he had left BJP over ideological differences for the sake of secularism.
"I don't know under what circumstances Nitish painted the lotus, but I think his mind, body, soul are not with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP," Purbey said. "The Grand Alliance is running well and he is not having any problem in carrying Bihar forward on the path of development."
JDU spokesperson and legislator Neeraj Kumar pooh-poohed the incident as a non-issue.
"No political meaning should be derived from the painting," Neeraj said. "The chief minister went there and painted. Colour and art should not be connected to politics or any party. After all, the saffron colour is the part of our national flag."
Nitish, however, seemed totally unaware of the sensation his strokes had sparked. He was totally in the moment. Before dabbling in art, speaking while inaugurating the book fair in the presence of its organising committee chairman H.L. Gulati, Centre for Readership Development president Ratneshwar, secretary Amarendra Kumar Jha and founder N.K. Jha, the chief minister asked the organisers to hold an international book fair next year and promised all possible state government help.
