But there are signs of greater sure-footedness on another tightrope. It is not merely that the BJP’s Sushil Modi, deputy chief minister, is such an unobtrusive presence in the JD(U)-BJP government. The Nitish government has taken several steps to assuage apprehensions of the Muslim minority. The Centre’s controversial vande mataram directive was quietly buried in Bihar; special weavers’ packages have been announced for backward Muslims; the Bhagalpur Commission given an extension and cases closed down for “lack of evidence’’ reopened.

On the governance front, Nitish must primarily learn to share the spotlight with his administration, particularly at the lower levels. There is rampant mistrust in Bihar of officials at the block and district headquarters. This is where a government’s sincere intentions are most likely to flounder. This is where government is most corrupt.

Finally, a long term problem lurks in the Nitish government’s singular focus on the low-hanging fruit. This strategy may work for law and order — and it has. Here, picking out the cases that are easiest to take to a conclusion has amplified the message: the new government means business. But a pursuit of the quickest results in primary education may saddle the system with long term disabilities. The regularisation of an army of para teachers and the short circuiting of procedures to fill up the sanctioned grand total of 3.40 lakh posts in state schools may become part of the problem.