Congress woos Nitish Kumar by indicating work has started to help Bihar

NEW DELHI: In what could be read as aggressive wooing of JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar by Congress, the Centre on Monday indicated that work has started on revising the criteria for backward states to ensure flow of special subsidies and large cash to Bihar.

“We have to see how the demand can be met. We are in the process of assessing how funds can be provided under different schemes to help backward states. Other states that are in similarly placed situation will also benefit from a re-look at the criteria that determine backwardness,” a senior minister said.

The Centre’s decision to amplify its efforts to help Bihar coincides with an unease in JD(U) over its ally BJP’s plans to project Narendra Modi as the PM candidate and the ruling alliance’s troubles on the alliance front. With DMK’s departure, the Centre’s dependence on the two UP leaders Mulayam and Mayawati has gone up several folds. The move to appease JD(U) is aimed at cushioning itself in the event of turbulence at the Centre. On March 17, Nitish had said that no government can be formed at the Centre without the help of backward states, suggesting that he was ready to bargain in the 2014 polls.