Aaloo parantha, dum aaloo, aaloo bhujiya and other potato delicacies were subjects of serious discussion outside the state Assembly on Monday.

The morning began on a savoury note for legislators, courtesy the agriculture department that presented the MLAs with tokra (straw baskets) full of organic potatoes produced in chief minister Nitish Kumar’s hometown, Nalanda.

The potatoes came from the farm of Nitish Kumar (not the chief minister but his namesake) in Darveshpura village in Nalanda district, who has achieved the feat of producing 729 quintals of potato on one hectare of land.

The vegetable was packed in 5kg baskets and distributed among the 243 members of the Assembly. The members of the Legislative Council will get their share of potatoes on March 28.

The gift, wrapped in yellow cellophane films, came as a pleasant surprise for most Assembly members. JD(U) MLA from Baikunthpur Manjeet Kumar said: “I will not only relish the dishes made from with the potatoes but also promote the vegetable in my constituency and motivate people to take up similar kind of farming.”

The potatoes gave the MLA idea for his next breakfast. “I love eating aaloo parantha and bhujiya,” he said.

Darveshpura has also created a world record in rice production. Three months ago, farmers from the village produced 224 quintals of paddy per hectare using the system of rice intensification.

BJP MLA from Paliganj Usha Vidyarthi was thrilled to receive the potato gift. “It is the king of all vegetables and I can prepare plenty of dishes from it. I love eating potatoes and it is good for health too. The farmer (Nitish Kumar) has achieved this world record through organic farming. It is tremendous. I will surely ask my supporters to follow his footsteps.”

The Opposition leaders, however, did not like this idea of distributing potatoes on the premises of the Assembly. RJD MLA from Jagdishpur Dinesh Kumar Singh said, “Chief minister Nitish Kumar is promoting his village by distributing potatoes in the Assembly. It does not look good.”

About preparing dishes from the vegetable, he said: “First, I will send this potato to the lab to check its authenticity. I have a doubt that this is not the same potato which the chief minister showed us a few days back. That one (displayed by Nitish) was bigger in size.”

Prem Ranjan Patel, BJP legislator from Suryagarha, dismissed the Opposition leader’s doubt. “It is the same potato which the chief minister was displaying. The size may not be the same but that does not change the quality of the vegetable.”