Patna:
A boy called 'Munna' is the star of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's new campaign ahead of polls in the state later this year.
Munna is the 64-year-old politician's nickname. In the Hindi comic series devised by his campaign team, Munna is Clark Kent to the 'heroic' Chief Minister - the boy who shaped the man.
"Munna se Nitish' is on Facebook and will soon debut on other social media. The man behind the idea is believed to be Prashant Kishore, who is credited with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's innovative campaign for the national election last year.
The comic begins with the depiction of a young Nitish Kumar sitting with his friends on a charpoy under a tree, apparently acting as arbiter in a dispute.
One of the slides shows how "Munna" could not finish his math exam in time, and therefore, could not score 100. "It affected him so profoundly that soon after becoming Chief Minister, he enforced a rule that students must get an extra 15 minutes after an exam," says the caption.
Another image shows Munna pulling his friend out before he is crushed under a train - the reason why later in his life, the Chief Minister prioritised proper railway over-bridges.
Nitish Kumar is also shown as the young idealist who refused to accept a dowry of Rs 22,000 and decided to go for a court wedding.
In one of the frames, Munna is seen with two friends in college. The caption compares the trio to the lifelong friends in the hit film "Three Idiots."
Nitish Kumar was recently declared the chief ministerial candidate of an alliance of parties that are contesting the Bihar polls together, including the Janata Dal United and the RJD.