By Vikas Khanna
Bihar does not understand the language of development. And
our politicos understand it much better. With the first of the five-phase
elections kicking off from Monday, the die has been cast. It’s the caste which
matters the most, it is the communal strife which is the right recipe for
winning elections. And pepper it up with dirty politics by calling names and
you have the right concoction. It’s the time-tested experiment which has rarely
gone wrong. So, why to experiment with something called DEVELOPMENT?
Which is why major political parties have junked the
development theme to return to “safe” politics over cow and caste? A poor
Muslim elderly man is killed on rumours of cow slaughter in Dadri and it
becomes a dominating political issue in Bihar. Suddenly, the political parties,
which were talking about changing the fortunes of Bihar by implementing their
ideas of development, see in it a golden opportunity and they latch on to it
with both hands. The discourse now changes to dietary habits of the
communities. Cow slaughter, which is already banned in several states, returns
to the fore. The fire, which started in Bishada in Dadri, has now reached
Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. And we have representatives of political parties
resorting to slug-fest over the issue.
At a time when the caste conundrum was proving to be a
jigsaw puzzle with so many parties chasing different castes, the beef row has
succeeded in creating a divide. Battle lines have been drawn. Its either us or
them! With two main alliances running neck and neck, the issue may prove to be
a game changer.
It’s a high-octane match, the verdict of which would make or
mar political fortunes of several political parties.
The BJP badly needs a victory. It has never succeeded in
breaching the citadel built assiduously first by the Congress party and then by
regional parties riding on the success of Mandal politics. The then Janata
Dal’s Lalu Prasad Yadav was the first to breach the fortress when he dethroned
the Congress-led government in 1990 by promising empowerment to the
marginalized castes of the society. The 15-year tenure of Lalu Prasad and his
illiterate wife Rabri Devi before he was convicted in a folder scam saw his
party’s complete stranglehold on backward and other backward castes of the
state which stood behind him like rock solid. But these 15 years were marked by
complete lawlessness with the state slipping to abysmal low on all
developmental parameters.
The year 2005 proved to be a watershed moment for Bihar.
Lalu’s staunch opponent Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP to oust the
government of RJD which had by then become infamous for its notoriety. Development
was a huge casualty and rampant ransoms had taken the shape of an industry. The
first term of Kumar’s Janata Dal (United)-BJP combine was a welcome relief as
the government launched a crackdown on criminals and restored the confidence of
investors and traders. The creaky infrastructure was replaced with better
concrete roads and the real estate sector witnessed a boom. A semblance of
normalcy started returning to the state, which began clocking double-digit
growth. His government was returned to power again in 2015 as caste politics
took a back seat and development became the buzz word. But the second term also
witnessed deepening of fissures between the two parties as it became evident
that the BJP had decided to anoint Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial
candidate for the 2014 general elections. The divorce finally happened in 2013.
What was an act of opportunism turned out to be a waterloo for Nitish Kumar who
was handed a humiliating defeat in the general elections? His party’s tally was
reduced to two as against 20 in the previous Lok Sabha elections.
Surprisingly, Kumar had no qualms in sharing power with BJP
for eight years till 2013 even though the Gujarat riots had happened in 2002.
Or he pretended to believe that Modi and BJP were two different sides of the
coin!
Circa 2015 and the same Kumar who had vociferously run down
Lalu in the previous elections decided to join hands with his staunchest
political rival to stop the juggernaut of Modi-led BJP. Sounds bizarre! The
alliance was more to do with the caste arithmetic as political survival of both
the leaders was at stake. The two decided to cast their net wider by forming a
grand alliance by reaching out to several smaller caste-based parties and
supported by the Congress party.
The formation of grand alliance did upset the BJP which also
went on an over drive to pander to smaller parties left out by the socialist
alliance. Not only did the BJP succeed in getting Jitan Ram Manjhi in its fold,
it played a crucial role in forcing Mulayam Singh Yadav to ditch the Janata Parivar
and to contest on all seats to play a spoiler. Mulayam’s Samajwadi Party being
a small fish in the ocean has no big chances for itself but it certainly can
damage the prospects of several candidates of grand alliance by cutting into
their votes. Any guesses for Mulayam’s somersault!
The electioneering is also marked by degradation of the
standard of discourse in public life by leaders resorting to hitting their
opponents below the belt by calling them by various names. What was started by
leaders panning the acronym of the parties with double entendre was soon
replaced with loose talk and gutter language. It was all well and within limits
when RJD was dubbed as “Rojana Jungle Raj Ka Dar” or JD(U) being called “Janata
ka Daman aur Utpidan” or Nitish Kumar taking potshots at BJP by calling it
“Badka Jhutha Party”.
But the political sneering plunged to its lowest when Prime
Minister Narendra Modi made a “DNA” remark on Nitish Kumar. All hell has broken
loose since then. BJP president Amit Shah’s “Chara-chor” (fodder eater),
comment against Lalu was met with “Narbhakshi” (man-eater) retort by the
latter. Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi also joined the fray by calling Amit Shah as
“Jallad” (executioner). The list is endless with leaders also delving into
mythological characters and likening rivals to Dhritrashtra, Duryodhan,
Vibhishan and Putana.
So, who would the voters vote for? No party has a blueprint
for the development of Bihar. None has bothered to come out with a vision
document. The voters are more confused than ever. It remains to be seen which
alliance will make the most of this confusion and come out trumps.
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