Bihar elections: beware of the fallacies

The Bihar State Assembly Elections are over. Expectedly, the Mahagathbandhan has won. But, unexpectedly, the NDA’s performance has been far below than expected. It was touted by media pundits and psephologists as a close battle between the two alliances. Many even went so far as to label the elections as a referendum on Modi, while others projected it as a Modi versus Nitish presidential style confrontation. None of these was true, or at best was partially true. 

The election results have made it quite clear that the elections were nowhere near being ‘a close fight’. The margin of NDA’s defeat is too big. It could not have been a referendum on Modi for the simple reason that you don’t conduct a referendum on the country’s prime minister in just one state, no matter how populous or otherwise important it might be. If about a dozen or so state assembly elections were involved then perhaps one could have presumed them to be a referendum on the central government’s programs and policies. Yes, it could be described as a referendum on Nitish Kumar’s chief ministership – since he has already served about two terms (with a voluntary interregnum in between) and was standing for the third. He has won it, but not handsomely or single handedly. The real winner is Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is definitely going to be a force to reckon with in the coming years as far as government formation and formulation & implementation of its programs and policies are concerned. Most probably, the RJD will try to corner most of the plum ministries or otherwise call the shots. This is where Nitish Kumar’s experience and wisdom will be tested. However, the elections are less a negative vote against BJP and more a reaffirmation of people’s endorsement of Nitish Kumar’s incumbency.

Several political pundits see the results as a rejuvenation of the Indian National Congress. This is far from the reality. The Congress remains in doldrums due to several factors. Most importantly, the party has yet to reform itself. The same culture of sycophancy and intrigue endures. There is hardly any leader with vision in the party now. It is quite clear that Rahul Gandhi has yet to make his mark as a leader. There is an opportunity for the Congress and its leaders to redeem themselves, but they do not appear to take this seriously. Today, the secular parties are in disarray. There is no strong challenge being offered to the right wing BJP. The Bihar election results are not a victory for secularism, but more a reaffirmation of the extant casteist/regional politics. Witness how the ‘Bihari versus Bahari’ slogan trumped the ‘crackers in Pakistan’ alarm. In fact, secularism went into a coma with the ascendancy of Indira Gandhi after Nehru’s death. She was the original specialist in polarization politics – of which we blame the BJP today. It was during her tenure that Hindus were pitted against various minorities, especially Muslims and Sikhs. What Modi and Shah duo are accused of today, including the Gujarat 2002 riots, is comparatively amateur grade. Witness, how the duo are exposed to the charges of communalism whenever an incident happens in any part of the country, and how they still carry the cross of the 2002 riots. Modi had even become a persona non grata in some of the western countries, including the USA. But no such accusation was ever made against Indira Gandhi in any international forum, including the media.

Be that as it may. Enough damage has been done to the nation’s secular ethos. It is time for all the political parties to introspect and take urgent course-correction steps. The Congress must reintroduce the Nehruvian culture of inner-party democracy and respect for democratic traditions and conventions. More importantly, it should restructure itself in such a manner that new political talent is allowed to bloom. Depending upon one family for leadership is proving to be fatal to the party. Only then can it legitimately rise to its former glory.

As for the BJP, it is time for the party to free itself from the RSS apron strings. It should cleanse itself of virulently communal elements whose irresponsible statements and actions are only harming the nation. PM Narendra Modi is in a strong position to take such a step. Moreover, he should stop himself for being used as a party pracharak in every state election. His status is too exalted for that. Let the local leadership do that job. The BJP is a cadre-based party. There is no dearth of local level leaders in the states. Let them be groomed for future leadership roles by taking up responsibilities for local/state elections. Modi should now focus his energies on keeping his promises to the people. The promises he made during the run up to the general elections. His focus should be on providing good governance, all round and inclusive development, generation of employment, strengthening of India’s internal and external security and restoring various institutions of governance to good health. 

Already two years have been wasted in playing the pracharak’s role. It is time to devote the balance three to his responsibilities as prime minister of the largest democracy in the world that is straining to become a developed economy and global power of substance. Modi has the capabilities. But is he willing?