Because the Bihar election marketing campaign enters its closing levels, with a verdict due inside per week, the ageing RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav stays totally on the sidelines, leaving his son Tejashwi to take heart stage within the bid to topple the Nitish Kumar-led NDA authorities.
Mr. Lal, who had been feeling unwell, was not his regular cheerful self. Reasonably, he seems to be grim and stressed as he meets The Indian Categorical sitting in a solitary chair on the balcony of Patna’s Ring Highway No. 10, the official residence of his spouse, Rabri Devi, Chief of the Opposition within the Legislative Council and RJD Opposition Chief within the Legislative Council and former Chief Minister of the state.
When requested what the Mahagathbandhan authorities will deal with as soon as it involves energy, Lal made a distinct level. “Baar hum berozgari ko dul karenge (now we are going to eradicate unemployment)?…We’re going to kind a authorities and we’re going to do away with Nitish Kumar.”
On the potential of partnering with JD(U) once more in case the numbers do not match, Lal is categorical. “Ab hum Nitish Kumar ko sweekar nahin karenge (We are going to by no means settle for Nitish Kumar once more)…We aren’t in contact with Nitish.”
Regardless of Lalu’s exoneration, Bihar is abuzz with hypothesis that Nitish could make one other ‘partha’ (U-turn) if he isn’t appointed chief minister by the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering within the occasion of an NDA victory, and if the brand new Congress’ arithmetic means he can kind the Mahagathbandhan Sarkar with assist from the JD(U).
Dwelling Minister Amit Shah had earlier joined the ranks of pigeons by saying that whereas the NDA is combating elections underneath the management of Mr. Nitish, the CM will likely be chosen by the newly elected MLAs. Issues did not go nicely with Nitish’s camp.
Later, some NDA leaders claimed that Nitish would grow to be the CM if the coalition returns to energy, however the query stays nagging. Over the previous few days, the chief minister has been greater than regular praising Nitish for all the things he has accomplished for Bihar whereas attacking Lalu’s “jungle rule”.
Lal and Nitish, who’re dealing with prices towards one another, are Bihar’s ace political jodi, having labored as rivals and collaborators to form and reshape the state’s politics over the previous 35 years. Though they’re typically at odds, additionally they assist one another.
Some level out that Nitish, a shrewd politician, has maintained the relevance of the Lalu Prasad household by aligning himself with the RJD in 2015 and once more in 2022, appointing his son Tejashwi as deputy CM on each events. If Nitish didn’t undermine Lalu to some extent, the RJD chief in flip left Nitish to steer the Mahagathbandhan authorities as a substitute of sticking to the CM publish of the RJD, with which he had an alliance.
Nitish knew that if the Yadav first household’s political grip weakened, the Yadavs would begin to gravitate towards the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering, which might grow to be an impartial participant. In that case, Nitish may need been excluded from the image.
On the similar time, Nitish additionally fashioned an alliance with the Kurmi Koeris, the ultra-backward class who had left Lalu in 2005 (alienated by the promotion of the Yadavs at their expense) and ‘Mahadalits’ to unite the extra marginalized non-Paswan Dalits. This gave the required numbers to the JD(U) chief, who’s a part of the Kurmi group, which constitutes solely 2.8 per cent of the inhabitants, versus the Yadavs of Lal, who represent over 14 per cent of the inhabitants.
Nitish’s determination to interrupt with Lalu and align himself with the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering and its upper-caste base additional elevated this vote. Thus started the Nitish period in Bihar politics in 2005.
The JD(U) management succeeded in sustaining this by retaining the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering in verify, simply because it had enabled Lalu and his household to take care of ties. Many level to CM Nitish giving bureaucrats a free hand to take care of all public fires for example of this. Many would say there may be little anti-Muslim sentiment in Bihar, not like, say, neighboring Uttar Pradesh.
Bihar’s politics, due to this fact, started to revolve across the trio of BJP, RJD and JD(U). For the reason that RJD won’t be part of arms with the BJP, these with whom the JD(U) joined forces not too long ago fashioned the federal government and Nitish stays the CM.
The 2025 ballot state of affairs sees the entry of a fourth outfit, Jan Suraj, led by the ‘destroyer’ Prashant Kishor, whom each Lalu and Nitish have accused of ‘destroying’ Bihar.
Now, Lal, who broke the upper-caste domination in state politics and paved the best way for Nitish, is taken into account a “previous.” Nevertheless, sources stated he performed a key function in deciding on the RJD ticket. When the Congress refused to make Tejashwi the face of the Mahagathbandhan CM and the seat-sharing course of got here to a standstill, it was Lal who intervened between the RJD and the Congress to redirect the state of affairs.
Nonetheless, the RJD is just not eager on bringing him to the fore, whether or not in posters, hoardings or campaigns, because the solitary determine minimize out of the 10-year-old Round Highway reveals. Regardless of Tejashwi’s deal with “work, work, work” and projecting the occasion’s “MY” base as not solely “Muslims” and “Yadavs” but in addition “Mahilas” and “youths” and a “down-to-earth” and constructive picture of the RJD, he has been successfully saved in the dead of night to keep away from stirring up controversies that remind individuals of the “Jungle Raj”.
If the query of what occurs to Lal is up within the air, so too is what occurs to Nitish, who has not recognized a successor or established a second management construction. Many individuals abandoned him as Nitish’s well being situation didn’t matter.
Nevertheless, Nitish is campaigning vigorously in an election marketing campaign the place there isn’t a seen ‘akrosh’ (anger) towards him, though there may be an anti-incumbent motion towards NDA MLAs. He can also rating one other huge victory with the Mukyamantri Mahila Lojgar Yojana, which was introduced simply earlier than the polls. On this election, the primary Rs 10,000 crore was disbursed into the accounts of over 1.2 crore ladies.
Bihar 2025 will certainly imply a transition to the ‘future’ within the type of Tejashwi and Kishore, in addition to LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan and BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary. However for now, Nitish and Lal proceed to dominate the discourse whilst they grapple with their well being points.
When individuals discuss their voting preferences, whether or not it is Masauli, Barakhetti, Pipalgatti, Bodhgaya, Gaya, Saran or Patna, they specific it as “I vote for Nitish (even when the candidate belongs to the JD-U alliance HAM-S, LJP-RV or the BJP)” or they check with Lalu.
