KOIRI CASTE’S SHARE WILL INCREASE IN BIHAR POLITICS

23-JULY-ENG 12

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA--------------------------In the Lok Sabha elections, RJD fielded several candidates to woo the Kushwaha vote bank, which benefited them to some extent. After the results came, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has changed the plan to keep his traditional 'Luv-Kush' vote bank united. Along with getting closer to Upendra Kushwaha, a big move has been made by sending Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha to the Legislative Council.

Nitish Kumar has been holding the post of Chief Minister in Bihar since 2005. His core vote bank Luv-Kush i.e. Kurmi and Kushwaha (Koiri) have a big role in capturing power. With the help of this vote bank, Nitish Kumar had marginalized Lalu Yadav in Bihar's power, but the 2020 assembly elections put a big dent in the Kushwaha vote bank. At the same time, in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Lalu has also succeeded in adding a large part of the Kushwaha vote bank to him. JDU and BJP have suffered losses because of it.

Lalu Yadav has gone a step ahead and played a big game by making Abhay Kushwaha the leader of the parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha. This decision has taken Nitish Kumar's sleep away. This is the reason why Nitish Kumar is now engaged in cutting Lalu's game plan. A big Kushwaha leader from Shahabad has been fielded in the Legislative Council elections. Both RJD and JDU are staking their claim on the Kushwaha vote bank.

In the 2020 assembly elections, 16 Kushwaha MLAs were elected. Which includes 3 MLAs of BJP, 4 MLAs of JDU, 4 MLAs of RJD, 4 MLAs of CPIML and 1 MLA of CPI. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections which have recently concluded, Lalu fielded 7 candidates on behalf of the Grand Alliance to woo the Kushwaha vote bank. In response to that, only 4 candidates were given by the NDA. 3 JDU and one Upendra Kushwaha contested the elections themselves but the most surprising result was given by Abhay Kushwaha from RJD. He won from Aurangabad.

Abhay Kushwaha, who became MP from Aurangabad, was earlier in JDU but he joined RJD just before the Lok Sabha elections. Lalu Yadav gave him a ticket and he also won. Now Lalu has made him the leader of the RJD parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha. In a way, he has played a big game to woo the Kushwaha vote bank.

The Kushwaha vote bank in Bihar is close to 6% and plays a big role in the victory or defeat on many assembly and Lok Sabha seats. In such a situation, Nitish Kumar, whose core vote bank has been Kushwaha and Kurmi, has become worried. That is why to counter Lalu Yadav's game plan, Nitish Kumar has fielded Shahabad's big Kushwaha leader Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha for a vacant seat in the Legislative Council.

There is also a discussion that Upendra Kushwaha, who lost the election from Karakat, can be sent to one of the two vacant seats of Rajya Sabha. Upendra Kushwaha lost the election from Karakat because Bhojpuri superstar Pawan Singh suddenly jumped into the election fray as an independent candidate from there and completely changed the equation of Rajputs. Karakat also affected many Lok Sabha seats in the last phase, which caused loss to NDA. Now Upendra Kushwaha is angry. In such a situation, an attempt can be made to remove his anger by sending him to Rajya Sabha. However, the election has not been announced by the Election Commission yet, nor has the name of Upendra Kushwaha been announced by the NDA.

However, JDU leaders claim that the Luv-Kush community has always been with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Rural Development Minister said that no matter what anyone does, the CM has the support of every community. At the same time, Building Construction Minister Jayant Raj said that the Chief Minister has always given proper representation to the Kushwaha community. Therefore, JDU has been getting the support of this community.

"People keep on minusing or plusing anything but we have always got the support of Kushwaha community. NDA candidates have got support in Lok Sabha elections and will get support in future too. So there is no need to worry or change the plan." - Shravan Kumar, Rural Development Minister

On the other hand, RJD says that by fielding 7 Kushwaha candidates in Lok Sabha elections, Mahagathbandhan has shown who cares about Kushwaha. He said that when the ticket was to be given, Nitish Kumar did not remember it at that time. Now whatever can be done, Kushwaha is not going to go with Nitish Kumar. By making Abhay Kushwaha the leader of the parliamentary party, we have given respect to Kushwaha community.

"In the Lok Sabha elections, the Mahagathbandhan gave tickets to seven Kushwaha candidates. This clearly shows who cares about the Kushwaha community. Nitish Kumar did not remember the Kushwaha community while giving tickets. RJD has also made Abhay Kushwaha the leader of the parliamentary party, so the Kushwaha community is definitely watching who is working for them." - Mrityunjay Tiwari, Spokesperson, Rashtriya Janata Dal

At the same time, if we look at the data of three elections, the situation will become clear that the resentment of the Kushwaha vote bank towards JDU has increased. In the 2015 assembly elections, 20 Kushwaha candidates won the elections, in which JDU had complete dominance. 11 Kushwaha candidates of JDU, 4 of BJP, 4 of RJD and one Kushwaha candidate of Congress won the elections. In the 2020 assembly elections, the 16 Kushwaha MLAs included 3 from BJP, 4 from JDU, 4 from RJD, 4 from CPIML and 1 from CPI.

: In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a total of 11 Kushwaha candidates were fielded by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the NDA alliance, but only 4 won, including 2 Candidates of India Alliance are included. India Alliance gave tickets to a total of 7 Kushwaha, including RJD 3, VIP 1, CPI (M) 1, CPIML 1 and Congress 1. At the same time, NDA gave tickets to 4 Kushwaha candidates. JDU fielded 3 and Rashtriya Lok Morcha fielded one candidate, while BJP, LJPR and HAM did not give tickets to anyone.

Political expert Ravi Upadhyay says that Nitish Kumar has been doing politics till now on the strength of Kushwaha and Kurmi. Apart from this, he also got the support of extremely backward but since some elections, his core vote bank is also getting dented. Talking about the Lok Sabha elections, 7 candidates were fielded by the Grand Alliance, in which two Kushwaha candidates won the elections, while only 4 were given tickets by the NDA. BJP did not give tickets to any Kushwaha.

"In Bihar, Kushwaha and Kurmi vote banks play a role as compared to Yadavs. Lalu has been eyeing this vote bank from the very beginning. In the last two elections, he has been successful in getting a large part of the Kushwaha vote bank with him. Abhay Kushwaha, who was also a JDU leader, was considered a weak link but he won the election. Kushwaha has also been given a message by making him the leader of the parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha. That is why Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha has been brought forward by Nitish Kumar. It is possible that Upendra Kushwaha may also be sent to the Rajya Sabha." - Ravi Upadhyay, political expert

What is Nitish Kumar's plan?: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has changed his game plan to manage Lalu's Kushwaha vote bank. Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha has been fielded for the only vacant seat of the Legislative Council. Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha may have an impact on many assembly constituencies of Shahabad and Magadh region. JDU's account was not opened in Shahabad due to not giving ticket to Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha in the 2020 assembly elections. At the same time, Upendra Kushwaha can be sent to one of the two vacant seats of Rajya Sabha. It is believed that with these efforts, the angry Kushwaha vote bank can be appeased.