PALTURAM’S OPPORTUNISTIC POLITICS IS SURE TO END

PALTURAM’S OPPORTUNISTIC POLITICS IS SURE TO END

4-NOV-ENG 19

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-----------------------The blow that the Congress's arrogant politics had threatened to deal to the Grand Alliance has been averted after the alliance announced its agreement to appoint Tejashwi as Chief Minister after the Grand Alliance's victory. On the other hand, the BJP, on behalf of the NDA alliance, has made it clear that its Chief Minister will be selected only after the elections. This clearly means that even though the BJP is contesting the elections with Nitish Kumar as its face, if the NDA wins, which seems highly unlikely, Nitish Kumar's Chief Ministership is unlikely. It is now impossible for Nitish Kumar to escape the trap he has found himself in, and if he attempts to do so after the elections, his own party will throw him out like a fly in milk. The BJP is fully prepared to swallow the JD(U). With the announcement of Tejashwi as Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar's chances of turning his back have also ended. Nitish's future has now been decided by the BJP-RSS, and whether the election results go one way or the other, one conclusion is clear: Bihar is about to be liberated from the "Paltu Ram politics" of "Sushasan Babu." The common people of Bihar, who have endured Nitish Kumar's opportunistic politics for years, have also decided this. This is the same Nitish Kumar who has allowed a communal, corrupt, and criminal party like the BJP, whose chariot was stopped by Lalu Prasad Yadav, to gain a foothold in Bihar.

In the last election, the difference between the Grand Alliance and the NDA was only 12,000-13,000 votes, but this difference increased the NDA's tally by 15 seats. There were also allegations of administrative rigging of vote counts in favor of the BJP in several seats. But the uproar that followed the Election Commission's order to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar, and the revelations from across the country, have made it clear that the Election Commission and various forms of systematic rigging have played a significant role in the BJP's victories, including the last Lok Sabha elections. This exposure has significantly impacted the BJP's charisma and influence, and in fact, has diminished its political credibility in the eyes of the public. With the Supreme Court's intervention and public awareness, the likelihood of large-scale rigging by the ruling party in the Bihar elections has diminished. This will have a direct impact on the election results for the BJP-JDU bloc.

It would not be surprising if a margin of 12,000-13,000 votes five years ago were to turn into a margin of 1.2-1.3 million votes in favor of the Grand Alliance this time. A lot of water has flowed down the Ganges River in these five years. The length of the Ganges River in Bihar is 445 km. The river flows through the heart of the state. The 12 districts through which the Ganga flows include Buxar, Bhojpur, Saran, Patna, Vaishali, Samastipur, Begusarai, Munger, Khagaria, Katihar, Bhagalpur, and Lakhisarai. The BJP-JD(U) alliance is in dire straits in all these districts. So dire is the situation that even if Prime Minister Modi came here and chanted, "Mother Ganga has called," Mother Ganga would be unlikely to offer any assistance. This time, Mother Ganga's blessings appear to be with the Grand Alliance. The Prime Minister may call it, in his vulgar language, the "Maha Thugbandhan" or the "Maha Lathbandhan," or may he call the parties associated with it, the "Stuck-Jhatak-Bhatak-Latak Dal" or something else entirely. The general public knows that today the Nitish-Modi alliance is the "Maha Lootbandhan," a coalition that has spread its bait and trap, waiting for prey. A major reason for the Grand Alliance's defeat last time was that Congress contested 70 seats, exceeding its capacity, but won only 19. The Left parties contested a much smaller number of seats, and their victory rate was almost double that of the Congress. The message was clear: if the Left parties had been allocated more seats, the election results could have been reversed in the Grand Alliance's favor. However, the Congress failed to grasp this message, and conflicts have arisen with the Left parties and the RJD in some seats. This has raised questions about the Congress's wisdom in fighting against the BJP and for secularism. The Congress and the Left have roughly equal electoral support bases in Bihar. However, the Left has not shown any urgency to contest more seats this time. This time, the Left is fighting with greater unity and strength than ever before, and its surge is even more visible than last time. The Left's greater success is essential for the Grand Alliance's sustainable future. The issue of SIR seems to have disappeared from the election, having been central to the "Voter Rights Yatra." The Supreme Court's directive to the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar cards and the Commission's decision to add the names of voters deleted on this basis has pushed this issue into the background. However, the danger of SIR excluding a large number of eligible voters, most of whom are socio-economically disadvantaged tribals, Dalits, and poor members of backward communities, from the electoral rolls remains unabated. With the upcoming assembly elections, we will see another nationwide clash with the Election Commission on this issue, as it has now transformed from an independent constitutional body into a pocket organization of the BJP-RSS. Therefore, during the Bihar election campaign, the Grand Alliance will have to refocus on this issue, which helped it gain an edge over the BJP-JD(U). Unemployment, education, and health are key issues. There are certainly issues of housing, agriculture, and farmers, which the Grand Alliance must contend with against the BJP's conspiracy to push them back. However, the alliance must avoid and even ignore attacks on the ruling party based on petty personal issues, as Modi-Shah and the entire NDA are unmatched in their vulgarity and baseness. The lapdog media is there to further degrade their baseness.

Meanwhile, the Grand Alliance has released its election manifesto. The influence of the Left is clearly visible in this manifesto. The issue of land is very important for the Left parties, and the manifesto promises to distribute the surplus land acquired through land ceilings among the landless and poor farmers. Nitish Kumar also made this promise and formed the Bandyopadhyay Committee for this purpose, but later reneged on its recommendations. If the Grand Alliance is true to its promise of social justice, the implementation of land reform policies will transform the socio-political and economic landscape of Bihar. The increased purchasing power of the common people through the land reform program will not only expand the domestic market but also create new employment opportunities. The land reform agenda has the potential to remove Bihar from the category of a sick state. The Grand Alliance has made unemployment an issue, the biggest problem facing the people of Bihar today, and has attempted to offer imaginative solutions to it in its manifesto.

The reason why the BJP is avoiding contesting elections on the development plank it has been claiming for the past 11 years is clear. The NITI Aayog report (2021) states that today 65 million people in Bihar live in multidimensional poverty, and 65.8 million are malnourished, including 43.9% children and 60.3% women. According to the United Nations Development Programme, India's average Human Development Index (HDI) score in 2022 was 0.644, while Bihar's was 0.609. This data places Bihar at the bottom of the list of 29 states in the country.

41% of women here were married before the age of 18, ranking Bihar 28th on this criterion. This situation of Bihari women also affects the health of children. According to the National Family Health Survey, while India's infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) is 35.2, Bihar ranks 27th with a rate of 46.8. Bihar ranks 27th with the highest rate of stunted children at 42.9% and the lowest rate of stunted children at 29th with a rate of 22.9%. Data from the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation shows that Bihar ranks 27th in terms of school dropouts in grades 9-10, with 20.5%, and in grades 11-12, with a gross enrollment ratio of only 35.9%, it ranks 28th. Only 17.1% of children who complete schooling are able to enroll in college, ranking 28th. Only 14.6% of families in Bihar (the last 29th) benefit from any health insurance scheme.

The state of good governance in Bihar is evident from the persistent violence during election campaigns. After frying pakodas, the BJP is now showing Bihari youth dreams of finding employment by making reels. This shows that the BJP has neither issues nor achievements. Therefore, the opposition alliance now has the opportunity to address the general public across the country under the pretext of elections.

The unity of the India Bloc in the Lok Sabha prevented the BJP from securing a clear majority. The enthusiasm this generated among the country's opposition forces was dampened by the BJP camp through planned rigging in Maharashtra and other states. Now, the Bihar elections offer the India Bloc a chance to emerge nationally, provided the Congress prioritizes the interests of Bihar's poor over its own partisan interests. Modi has sealed Nitish's future. The future of the India Bloc, via the Grand Alliance, will be decided by the people of Bihar, based on its unity and conduct. For now, there are still two full weeks left for speculation.