Only the naive would believe Nitish Kumar secured Bihar by keeping caste away from politics. He successfully wooed politically insignificant lower caste groups to ensure that Lalu Prasad, his friend-turned-rival, was no longer the Backward Class poster boy in the state. It has taken a while for his strategy - tested with precision in 2005, as well as in 2010, - to gain the endorsement of other practitioners of caste politics. Clearly, in the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, it appears, almost all parties want to do a Nitish Kumar.