Bihar Assembly Elections Oct-nov 2005

11-24-2005, 10:16 AM

CPM to protest against EC for âcrossing limitsâ

So the itch has started!! <!--emo& Big Grin

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QUOTEStung by the Election Commissionâs directive to delete 72,000 names of criminals and âabscondersâ from the Bengal electoral list prior to state assembly elections slated sometime early next year, the CPM has decided to lodge a strong protest with the EC for âcrossing its limitsâ.

In its directive to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Election Commission has categorically stated that those against whom non bailable arrest warrants had been issued and absconding for the last six months at a stretch, are not eligible to vote and hence, their names must be deleted from the final votersâ list.

âThe Commission does not possess any right to act like this and we will shortly be sending a protest note to the EC in New Delhi,â CPM state secretary Anil Biswas said here on Wednesday.

If the EC diktat has to be implemented, names of a large number of activists and leaders belonging to the CPM and its coalition partners besides Congress and Trinamool will have to be struck out of the votersâ list.
...
The decision to petition the EC by the CPM state leadership has been triggered by the Commissionâs move to start distribution among the political parties a CD containing all the 72,000 names that figure in the police records.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress supremo Ms Mamata Banerjee who congratulated the EC for its âmarvellousâ job in Bihar, appealed to the Commission to âdo a Bihar in Bengal too.â

If the EC decides or is allowed to adopt identical measures (as taken in Bihar) to hold assembly elections in West Bengal next year, the results will also reflect the change, people of Bihar had opted for,â Ms Banerjee told reporters here on Wednesday.

11-24-2005, 10:34 AM

This highly contagious 'itch' has fortunately not yet jumped onto humnas. It currently only affects marxists. It is likey to soon spread from Calcutta all the way to Delhi and consume the zooological garden of JNU where marxist species proliferate. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, due to his enhanced susceptibility, is likely to come down hard with it.

For a diagnosis, look out for marxists, with agitated mannerisms, incoherent speech, frothing at the mouth and with a psychotic phobia of two english letters "E' and 'C' put in juxtaposition. ( Don't confuse it with another chronic phobia of letters 'S' and 'C' in juxtaposition, that Somnath Chatterjee suffers from. )

11-24-2005, 10:13 PM

QUOTENitish Kumar sworn-in as Bihar CM
November 24, 2005
Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar was on Thursday sworn-in as the 33rd chief minister of Bihar.

He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Buta Singh at a public function at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

State Bharatiya Janata Party President Sushil Kumar Modi was sworn-in as the deputy chief minister of the JD(U)-BJP coalition government.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended among others by several National Democratic Alliance leaders, including former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, BJP president L K Advani, JD(U) leaders Sharad Yadav and Jaya Jaitely.

Akali Dal leader Prakash Singh Badal, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur and BJP leaders M Venkaiah Naidu, Uma Bharti, Arun Jaitely and Navjot Singh Siddhu also attended the function.
in.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/24bpoll3.htm 
I am worried about Mamta's life. These low life commies will try something nasty. Only SC and EC can change course in WB but I am not sure whether Cong will let them do.

11-24-2005, 11:01 PM

Previous thread on Bihar Elections have been archived at..

http://indiaforumarchives.blogspot.com/200...-elections.html
http://indiaforumarchives.blogspot.com/200...lections-2.html

11-24-2005, 11:14 PM

<img src='http://specials.rediff.com/news/2005/nov/24sld3.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Source rediff.com

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by BJP big-wigs like former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bharatiya Janata Party President L K Advani, JD-U's Sharad Yadav and Jaya Jaitley.
The NDA had invited many of its associates for the swearing-in. Akali Dal leader Prakash Singh Badal, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur and BJP leaders M Venkaiah Naidu, Uma Bharti, Arun Jaitley and Navjot Singh Siddhu also attended.

Nitish Kumar was sworn in along with 12 more ministers

11-24-2005, 11:31 PM

QUOTENitish drafts neat, compact cabinet 
Pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay / New Delhi
With expectation of the populace soaring high, the composition of Nitish Kumar's cabinet had generated a great deal of interest in Bihar. But the astute politician that he is Mr Kumar deftly handled the compulsion of coalition politics and drafted a neat and compact council of ministers consisting of 16 cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state.

Living up to his promise made during the poll campaign, Mr Kumar did not include any 'tainted' minister.

In a state where more than 40 per cent MLAs have criminal record, this is seen as a major first move by Mr Kumar in the taking Bihar politics out of the clutches of the mafia and thugs.

The swearing in ceremony was preceded by some sporadic protect by supporters of BJP MLA Navin Kishore Sinha who were demanding his inclusion in the cabinet. Mr Sinha is a four-time MLA from West Patna and a senior leader of the state unit. Angry supporters of Mr Sinha created unruly scene before the BJP office.

Sources in the BJP said that Mr Sinha might be either offered an important party post or later inducted in the cabinet. The BJP leaders were also trying to persuade the JD (U) to accept him as the Speaker of the Bihar Assembly.

Mr Kumar had said on Wednesday that he would take oath with 12 ministers, but with pressure mounting from all quarters, he agreed to accommodate more aspirants. JD(U), the senior coalition partner, had the lion's share of ten cabinet ministers and BJP six.

There will be 10 ministers of state, eight from JD(U) and two from BJP. BJP state president Sushil Kumar Modi took oath as Deputy Chief Minister.

Mr Kumar's cabinet also includes four MLAs who had defected from the LJP after the February polls and were able to retain their seats. Of them, cabinet ministers - Ramashray Prasad Singh and Narendra Singh - both from JD (U), are not members of any house of the bicameral Bihar legislature.

While Ramashray Prasad Singh was the leader of Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP legislature party in the dissolved previous state assembly and had switched over to JD(U) during its failed bid to form a Government in February, Narendra Singh was state LJP chief.

Two other LJP deserters Suchira Singh, and Anil Kumar, both JD (U) have been included as ministers of state. Suchitra Sinha, MLA from Kurtha, is the wife of former national secretary general of LJP, Nagmani, who parted ways with party President and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

The JD(U) cabinet ministers are: State JD(U) President Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Brishen Patel, Sudha Srivastava, Monazir Hasan, Ramnath Thakur, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Narendra Narain Yadav and Baidyanath Prasad Mahto.

Besides Modi, other BJP cabinet ministers are Nand Kishore Yadav, NDA Convenor in the state, Chandramohan Rai, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, Prem Kumar and Janardan Singh Sigriwal.

Besides Suchitra Sinha , Anil Kumar, the JD(U) MLAs, who were inducted as ministers of state are: Gautam Singh, Ajit Kumar, Vishwamohan Kumar, Arjun Rai, Nitish Mishra and Manzar Alam. Nitish Mishra is the son of three times Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra.

The ministers of state from BJP are Ramjidas Rishideo and Ramchandra Sahni.

While drafting his council of minister, Mr Kumar has taken note of the caste reality of Bihar and regional aspirations. The EBC, who were actively wooed by both the RJD and NDA, get four berths in the council of ministers.

Among them is Ramnath Thakur, son of former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, who is virtually worshipped as the icon of backward caste movements

In a significant move, Mr Kumar has included five minister from the MY combine, three Yadavs and two Muslims.

At the same time, Mr Kumar had brought in just a single minister of his Kurmi caste, Brishen Patel, an old associate, who had left him to briefly join the RJD. Two members of the Koeries, who come from the OBC segment, and two dalits also find representation. Sushil Modi is the lone vaishya representative in the ministry.

The upper caste have also been liberally rewarded as 13 of them find place in the council of ministers . Of them four are Bhumihars, Rajputs 3, and Kaystha and Brahmin two each. 
Why media is so fixated to caste?

11-24-2005, 11:35 PM

QUOTECaught in dilemma
* Former cricketer Kirti Azad finds himself caught in a cleft stick. After the rout the NDA had suffered in Bihar in the last Lok Sabha polls, Azad, an MP from Muzaffarpur, decided to shift base. Given the increasing Bihari in the city, he took a new avatar as leader of Poorvanchal.

However, now the rout of RJD in the Assembly elections and the thumping majority, which the NDA enjoys in the Assembly, Bihar could again prove to be happy hunting ground for the NDA leaders. Given the option, Mr Azad is caught in a dilemma - to stick to his Poorvanchal avatar or return to Bihar and nurse Darbhanga for the next polls. His comrade-in-arms Shatrughan Sinha too is stuck in a similar situation. Given the results, he is undecided whether to stay in the BJP or quit, which he had been doing for a long time.

11-25-2005, 12:47 AM

Nitish swears in, Buta sweared at
QUOTEA thronging crowd marked Mr Kumar's swearing-in ceremony. The large oval Gandhi Maidan was jam-packed, reminiscent of JP's historic call for a movement in 1974 at the same venue. Every lip had 'Nitish Kumar' upfront. Young faces smeared in green could be seen sporting green arrow (JD-U poll symbol) bandanas - of course, they were vying for the new Chief Minister's attention.

Adjacent to the main podium, there was a relatively low and smaller platform wrapped in an off-white sheet where a galaxy of NDA leaders were seated.

The crowd cheered the arrival of each leader. It was, however, a different story when Governor Buta Singh stood up to administer the oath-taking. Visibly upset over Mr Singh's open support to the previous regime, they jeered: "Buta Singh wapas jayo, Buta nahi yeh jhoota hai, isne Bihar ko loota hai, Buta ka khunta ukhad gaya." The non-stop chanting came to a halt only when Mr Kumar signaled them to take their seats. The grim-faced Buta Singh looked serious, perturbed and nonplussed in his inimitable sherwani.Â <!--emo& Big Grin

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11-25-2005, 02:39 AM

Rabri to vacate CM's Bungalow
QUOTEPATNA: Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi would be moving out of the sprawling 1 Anne Marg bungalow after 15 years, with the authorities Thursday asking her to vacate it within seven days.

She has been asked to make way for Nitish Kumar, sworn in as the new chief minister.

"The state government-owned building construction department has written to Rabri Devi to vacate her official bungalow with a deadline of seven days," official sources said.

Rabri Devi and her husband Lalu Prasad, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Railway Minister, have been living in the bungalow since March 10, 1990.

They moved into the palatial building along with their nine children when Lalu Prasad first became the chief minister.

The family was at that time staying in a government quarter for peons, allotted to Lalu Prasad's brother who worked in a college.

The couple continued to stay in the bungalow despite Rabri Devi failing to become chief minister after the February assembly elections. They were not asked to vacate it during the President's rule in the state.

Sources close to Rabri Devi said her luggage was being shifted to a house allotted to Lalu Prasad in his capacity as the RJD chief.

Her cattle, including around 50 cows, will also be moved to the new house, which shares its boundary with 1 Anne Marg bubgalow.

Though the bungalow was not notified as the official residence of Bihar chief minister, it was regarded as the best and most suitable, situated in high security zone near the governor house.

Arrangements have been made for Nitish Kumar to stay in a state guesthouse near 1 Anne Marg.

11-25-2005, 07:50 PM

Lalu Prasadâs vote bank was never enough for a majority; he covered the deficit with rigging

By YASHWANT SINHA

Bihar has redeemed itself. By voting the way they did in the recently held elections, the people of Bihar have exploded many myths, myths which have been propagated about Bihar and have been held dear by many in the media in Delhi and elsewhere. The Janata Dal, which won the assembly elections in Bihar in 1990, was not then led by Lalu Prasad, nor did it secure an absolute majority of its own. Lalu Prasad was elected leader of the Janata Dal Legislature Party in 1990 in a triangular contest and became the chief minister of Bihar with the support of the BJP.
As it happens in all backward, especially feudal societies, those in power attract the maximum attention. So did Lalu Prasad after he became chief minister. He took maximum advantage of this attention, deliberately cultivated a typical rustic style and became the toast of the Indian media. He was always projected as being larger than life. Few will recall that the only election in which he secured a majority on his own in the Bihar assembly was in 1995. He was reduced to a minority in the 2000 election and Nitish Kumar was sworn in as chief minister of Bihar because the NDA had secured a larger number of seats in the assembly than the RJD. As is well known, Nitish Kumar could not muster a majority and had to resign. The field was then clear for Lalu Prasad, who installed Rabri Devi once again as the chief minister of Bihar.

The more recent story of the hung assembly after the March 2005 elections, the âunconstitutionalâ dissolution of that assembly when Nitish Kumar was close to securing majority support and the subsequent election and its result need no repetition here. The fact is that the people of Bihar have spoken loud and clear, given an unambiguous verdict and rejected resoundingly the combination of RJD + Congress + CPM + NCP. People have also seen through the games played by Ram Vilas Paswan and shown him his place.

During the 15 years of Lalu raj, Bihar not only became a by-word for non-governance, lack of development, collapse of law and order and unbridled corruption but also for rigid caste politics. Analysts, until the other day, were unwilling to see Bihar in any other mould except of caste. Even in the morning of November 22, when counting of votes was about to begin in Bihar, learned commentators in Delhi were predicting a hung assembly once again and were not prepared to write-off Lalu Prasad. They considered Lalu Prasad invincible in Bihar because of the caste equation backing him. It was predicted that the excesses of the Election Commission had led to a consolidation of the M-Y vote bank in his favour and with a little additional support from the other castes, he would swing the election in his favour again. His statement that a âdjinnâ would come out of the voting machines in his favour was taken seriously and gleefully by his supporters in the media here. They hoped that he would perform a miracle once again. Alas, that was not to be this time.

What went wrong with Lalu Prasad this time? Where did he miscalculate? Lalu Prasad was consumed by his own myth that Bihar would always vote along caste lines. He forgot the various occasions in the past when the people of Bihar rose as one man and voted out a regime they did not like or voted in a party they liked. I am not saying that caste did not play a role in this election. It perhaps did. But other considerations also weighed with the people and blunted the impact of caste. People of Bihar did not approve of the manner in which the last assembly was dissolved to keep Nitish Kumar and NDA out of power. After the pronouncement by the Supreme Court that the dissolution was âunconstitutional,â the voters were convinced that Lalu Prasad and the Congress party had not acted honestly and fairly and decided to record their disapproval of this action through this vote. The issues of non-governance and lack of development, of corruption and kidnapping were major issues once again.

But the factor which clinched the verdict in favour of the NDA was the fair and fearless manner in which the Election Commission conducted the elections in Bihar this time. The bureaucracy of Bihar read the mind of the people correctly and once rid of the fear of the return of Lalu raj, cooperated fully with the Election Commission, except for some dishonourable exceptions. All escape routes for Lalu Prasad were sealed securely.

Rigging of elections had become a way of life in Lalu Prasadâs Bihar. While commentators in Delhi wrote about the famous M-Y support for him, about his popularity and invincibility, he with the support of the administration quietly rigged elections in enough number of seats to secure a majority. Why did he not succeed this time? Simply because the administration refused to obey his command and the Election Commission kept an eagle eye. When I predicted in a TV interview in the evening of November 21, that RJD would secure less than 60 seats in the election, others on the panel looked at me incredulously and promptly disagreed with me.

There is no denying the fact that Lalu Prasad has a vote bank in Bihar. He always had that vote bank. But that vote bank alone was not enough to carry him to a majority in the Bihar assembly. The deficit was sought to be made up by rigging elections. This recipe did not work this time. The results are there for all to see. Elections in Bihar this time have been won by the people of Bihar, ably assisted by the Election Commission.

11-25-2005, 07:59 PM

JD(U) squirming, BJP steps back: Narendra Modi absent 

By MANINI CHATTERJEE - Who is this person? What are his credentials?

PATNA, NOVEMBER 24: In face of sharp misgivings from a section of the Janata Dal (U) and fearing street protests by RJD and other political parties,Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was persuaded not to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Nitish Kumar government at the Gandhi Maidan here today.

Even at 10 this morning, officials at the airport confirmed that Modiâs special flight was scheduled to land at 11.30 am and that he would head straight for Gandhi Maidan. Later, his no-show was attributed to a âtechnical snagâ in his aircraft while BJP leader Sushil Modi claimed that his namesake had decided to give the ceremony a skip because of âother engagements.â

The real reason, sources said, was that the BJP leadership here realised that Modiâs presence on the very first day of the new government would âembarrassâ the JD(U) and create unnecessary tension at the ground level between the two parties.

JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, known for his no-nonsense manner and blunt speech, had warned the BJP right from the beginning not to let either âcinemawallahsâ and âHindutvawadisâ to have anything to do with the election campaign. Although Uma Bharati campaigned extensively, she was asked to stick to the issue of Biharâs development and Lalooâs misrule. Sharad Yadav, sources said, ticked her off for mentioning Hindutva at the very last poll meeting at Gandhi Maidan on November 17. The absence of both Narendra Modi and Shatrughan Sinha today is a result of that early warning, JD(U) sources claimed. With the emergence of Sharad Yadav as the key decision-maker of the JD(U), the âsocialistâ and âsecularâ traditions of the party are likely to get strengthened, they added.

While Nitish Kumar was the chief ministerial candidate and tireless campaigner for the party, Sharad Yadav played a strong supporting role and has enhanced his stature by smashing Lalooâs bastion in the Yadav-dominated Kosi belt comprising Madhepura, Saharsa and Supaul districts. Sharad Yadav, who had once defeated Laloo Yadav in Madhepura, had addressed over 250 meetings in course of this election campaign.

Following the partyâs sweep, Yadav has become the organisational strongman of the JD(U) while governance has been entrusted to Nitish.

Nitish, sources said, had now âcome out of George Fernandesâ gripâ and the Nitish-Sharad combine had replaced the George-Nitish duo in Bihar. This development, a JD(U) leader said, would strengthen the âsecularâ traditions of the party and facilitate the realignment of the fragmented non-Congress, non-BJP âJanata parivarâ in the long term. In this context, it is significant that the one non-NDA chief minister who Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav had personally invited to todayâs swearing-in ceremony was Mulayam Singh Yadav. Though he did not make it today, a new friendship and cooperation between the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh could be on the cards, sources said.

That apart, the JD(U)âwhile holding on to its alliance with the BJPâwill also make efforts to become the rallying point for all the âMandal forcesâ in the state in the days to come, sources said. If the BJP sees the victory in Bihar as a starting point for increasing its ideological influence in the state, the anti-BJP sections within the JD(U) are hoping to become the central pole of a âsocialistâ revival in the state. The RJD, they concede, had become the natural platform of the âpichchde, garib, aur alpsankhyakâ (poor, backward, and minorities) in Bihar. With the RJDâs crushing defeat and the marginalisation of the LJP, the âmasses behind the two parties could gravitate towards us,â a JD(U) leader said, conjuring a dream scenario of his party reaching a position when it was no longer dependent on the BJP.

11-25-2005, 09:47 PM

Nitish sacks tainted minister
QUOTEBihar's new Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dropped a minister just 10 hours after the oath-taking ceremony on discovering that he was involved in a corruption scandal.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, accused in a major scandal involving selling of fake degrees for B Ed courses, submitted his resignation to Governor Buta Singh.

According to a ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader, the chief minister told his party seniors that he would not compromise on his promise of providing a clean administration.

Manjhi, who had won from the Barachatti Assembly constituency in Gaya district bordering Jharkhand, was minister in the previous Rashtriya Janata Dal government of Rabri Devi in 1999 and was forced to quit when the scam surfaced.

He subsequently shifted loyalties to the JD(U

Good job <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' />

11-25-2005, 09:52 PM

MANINI CHATTERJEE known for anti-hindu articles and she/he is linked with World leftist movement. Very close with Christian World Evangelical groups.QUOTEExpress' Chief Congie Hack, Neerja Chowdhury, has distanced herself today from the mess in Jharhand. "Some sense seems to have prevailed in Express editorial office", a reader remarked, "they kept out Chief Marxist Hack Manini Chatterjee for the day."

11-25-2005, 11:48 PM

All the political parties can squirm all they want but Narendra Modi is destined to become PM one day... you heard it here first... <!--emo& Tongue

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11-27-2005, 07:30 AM

Restoration of Bihar's fortunes

QUOTEKPS Gill

The electoral outcome in Bihar has surprised pundits and destroyed many a myth, but it is far from novel in the message the people have sought to communicate. Many pretentious and convoluted theories have long been advanced by analysts regarding the mysteries of the voters mind, but the truth is, the Indian electorate has repeatedly and clearly issued warnings to the nation's leaders and has articulated its aspirations without ambiguity. It is just that the leaders refuse to 'get it', and to deliver the goods.

The result is that Government after Government has been turfed out, both in the States and at the Centre, as regimes fail to tackle basic administrative issues. This has happened with such regularity that analysts invented the 'incumbency factor' as an alibi for the disastrous electoral performance of parties in power. But in any State that has seen even a modicum of good governance, the 'incumbency factor' does not operate.

There is, indeed, no such enigmatic force; there are, rather, simple public expectations that leaders will do the jobs they have been elected to do, and when this does not happen, they are thrown out of power. This is simply a rejection of the endemic incompetence of regimes everywhere in the country, and a reflection of the fact that political formations today appear to lack the most basic capacities for administration.

For a decade and a half in Bihar, however, Lalu had been able to escape public ire by the shameless fraud of his slogan of 'social justice', and the cynical manipulation of caste and communal sentiments, to the exclusion of any measure of acceptable governance, political probity, and personal integrity. Indeed, Lalu has played the caste and communal puppeteer so brazenly that he has, on occasion, explicitly rejected development and governance as potential electoral issues, and has systematically driven his State into the ground.

Today, Bihar fares disastrously on virtually the entire range of developmental indices: it is the country's poorest State, with per capita incomes at a third of the national average, and over 42 per cent of the people below the poverty line (as against the countrywide average of 26 per cent); illiteracy stands at 52 per cent as against the national average of 35 per cent, and female illiteracy is worse, at 67 per cent. Urbanisation - an index of productivity and modernisation - stands at barely 11 per cent, against a national figure approaching 28 per cent. Bihar has lost almost its entire industrial base and mining belt after the creation of Jharkhand.

Most of the State's 54 public sector units are in a terminal state - 32 are 'not working' and another 13 have been declared sick - and there is little private enterprise (unless one includes extortion and organised criminal activity in the definition of 'enterprise'). Though the land is fertile, agricultural yields are low, with small areas under irrigation, and an annual cycle of floods and drought inflicting enormous suffering on the people. Most of the rural population remains dependent on primitive subsistence agriculture - nearly half the farmers still use bullock carts to plough their land and nearly 96 per cent of all farmers operate at subsistence or below-subsistence levels.

For years now, the administrative system has been moribund, the Government has failed repeatedly to pay salaries to a significant proportion of its employees, schools and colleges are virtually non-functional, and the future of an entire generation has been destroyed.

The outcome of the current election creates an opportunity to restore the integrity of governance in the State, and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has promised that this will be his first priority, declaring that he would destroy the myth "that there can be no governance in Bihar." In an age of fractured mandates, the NDA coalition has secured a clear majority, and there can be no alibis for failure now, beyond the incapacity of the leadership.

A frisson of hope is sweeping across Bihar today, but a measure of caution is necessary. The administration in the State has been so completely subverted, its restoration will be a Herculean task. Worse, it is not clear whether the State's new leadership really has the vision or capacity to engineer a strategy of revival - it is sobering to recall that both Nitish Kumar and his deputy, Sushil Kumar, trace their political roots to Jai Prakash Narain's disastrous 'total revolution', as did Lalu, and there remains the danger of a lapse into half-baked and populist ideologies of confused socialism.

The record of new regimes in the recent past, across the country, has also been poor. With most political formations in the State and Centre lacking basic administrative experience and competence, radical policy changes do not follow changes of regime. Successive governments, at best, try to tinker with the system; at worst, they are transient regimes of looters who make the most of the limited time and opportunity they have at their disposal. It remains to be seen which pathway Nitish Kumar's Government in Bihar will choose to tread.

Bihar's destiny cannot be a matter of indifference for the rest of India. The State has now become an Indian test case. For some time now, it has been exerting a disproportionate and perverse influence on the nation's political culture and psyche, even as its growing disorders jeopardise India's ambitious quest for economic transformation. If the challenge of restoring the rule of law and basic administration - including the entire state paraphernalia for social welfare, health and education - meets with success, the impact will reverberate across the country.

Bihar's misfortunes have graphically demonstrated the fact that you cannot cater to particular castes and communities in the quest for development - in this, it is all or nothing. The restoration of Bihar's fortunes could demonstrate to the national political leadership that, while caste and communal combinations may work on voters for some time, it is, in the end, efficiency, governance and development that the people aspire to.

India's future will be defined by its capacity to transform its neglected peripheries and its marginalised millions. Bihar has, for long, been an area of unforgivable neglect and active deterioration. For those who are imagining a vision of 'India unbound', it is necessary to remember that Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the country's two most populous States, are today its worst governed, and have maintained a continuous spiral into disorder and administrative chaos for decades.

There will be a temptation at the Centre - particularly among certain constituent elements of the ruling UPA - to undermine the new NDA regime at Patna, and such an inclination will be actively encouraged by Lalu - though his capacity to pressure the Manmohan Singh Government has been substantially eroded by the elections. It is crucial, here, to appreciate that Bihar's voter has had the courage and acuity to rise above communal and caste platforms and to do what it could for governance; India's leadership must now demonstrate that it has the sense to do the same.

Delhi must, in the national interest, rise above the seduction of partisan politics at this stage, and give Bihar's unfortunate people a fighting chance to pull themselves out of the morass into which they have been immersed by the Lalu-Rabri order. If we have a stake in India, we have an equal stake in Bihar's future.

11-27-2005, 08:58 AM

There are two distinct spin by "secular" fundamentalists on the Bihar assembly election results.

First, the "secular" losers are trying hard to spin the result as JD (U) victory and in the process giving almost all the credit to Nitish Kumar inidividually. They are unwilling to give credit to NDA as a whole. The idea is create wedge between the JD (U) and BJP while giving inflated view of JD (U)'s capability. Little do they realize that numbers are stacked up against them. And numbers don't lie. BJP has managed to win one seat more than ultra-communalist ultra-casteist RJD's Laloo Yadav.

The virulent communal campaign by RJD's Laloo Yadav trying to instill fear in the minority community and making wild unsavory comments did nothing to change his fortune.

Also, some of JD (U)'s dream of securing absolute majority without depending on BJP is more than premature. There is big gap between 88 and 122. It is obviously not unimaginable scenario but trifle premature is all.

Second, the "secular" losers are trying hard to persuade Nitish Kumar's JD (U) to move away from the BJP. They are trying hard to tell Nitish that it was his victory and not that of NDA. Obviously, they are trying to inflate his self importance. I doubt if it will get in to Nitish's head but in times of victory politicians do tend to over estimate their importance.

11-27-2005, 11:11 PM

QUOTEA frisson of hope is sweeping across Bihar today, but a measure of caution is necessary. The administration in the State has been so completely subverted, its restoration will be a Herculean task. Worse, it is not clear whether the State's new leadership really has the vision or capacity to engineer a strategy of revival - it is sobering to recall that both Nitish Kumar and his deputy, Sushil Kumar, trace their political roots to Jai Prakash Narain's disastrous 'total revolution', as did Lalu, and there remains the danger of a lapse into half-baked and populist ideologies of confused socialism.

This is the fear I also have with Nitish Kumar. His skills will be tested with the team of beauracrats that he choses. If the new Govt comes out like Raman of Chattisgargh then it will be a great day for India. There is lot to do and he needs to do without favoritism while saving his gaddi. Saving Gaddi is very important in the Bihar's political landscape. Very few are ideologically alligned to respective political parites. Most of the polititians here are un-trustworthy and difficult to manage for the party leaders.

11-28-2005, 12:02 AM

this is one of the best day in the indian history. lalu will always be remembered for being the epitome of a heinous indian legislation whose act has destroyed the very system. it needs to be cleaned and this is the first important step taken. i congratulate all the people of bihar who were able to come out of the clown's blanket cover. its no more dark out there, we don't need 'lanten'. Future will show us the day.

**acharya** · (This post was last modified: 11-29-2005, 03:47 AM by acharya.)

Praful Bidwai

'Social justice' backfires on Lalu

November 28, 2005

Just eight months after electing a hung assembly, the people of Bihar have delivered a clear verdict, without ifs or buts, against the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress ruling alliance.

The result is unusual for five reasons.

First, the vote got sharply polarised in an amazingly short time. The social and political realignments that normally take years to unfold in most states were compressed into months.

This means that news and analysis is flowing faster and equally

Second, the Janata Dal (United)-Bharatiya Janata Party won a convincing and decisive victory, claiming 60 per cent of the assembly seats. This hasn't happened in Bihar -- or Uttar Pradesh -- for a quarter-century. Victors there have had to be content with marginal or incremental gains. The RJD's greatest-ever victory -- 167 out of the then 324 seats -- in 1995 pales beside the latest result.

This means that the voters will seek remedy after long term suffering seeing the overall growth in other parts of the country. They cannot be fooled by press and political debates.

Third, the JD-U's sweep has come on a remarkably low voter turnout -- 46 per cent, or 17 percentage-points less than the past 15 years' average. Usually, such sweeps occur with high turnouts. The low turnout is partly the result of overzealous Election Commission officials like K J Rao, who seem to have had a dampening effect on OBC (other backward caste), Dalit and Muslim voters. This is no cause for celebration.


The decisive voting even due to low turnout means that determined voters are voting to change the status quo

A fourth feature is the rapid shrinking of the space held by Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, owing to his negative, dog-in-the-manger role in February/March in not supporting either the RJD or the JD-U alliances in forming a government.

One man show and popularity are not going to change the voter any more

As many as 74 per cent of the voters polled in a post-election survey by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies blamed Paswan for this; and 52 per cent for the imposition of President's rule.

Paswan earned the disapproval of 80 per cent of all electors -- including 63 per cent of LJP voters -- for insisting that a Muslim should become chief minister. The demand was seen as blatantly opportunistic.

Finally, the role played by Governor Buta Singh turned many uncommitted voters against the RJD-Congress. Singh was widely seen as partisan in summarily rejecting the JD(U)-BJP's claim to form a government -- although the RJD-Congress palpably lacked the strength to do so.

His recommendation of President's rule was seen as devious. This was confirmed by a Supreme Court judgment in October. Matters worsened with reports of Singh's sons interfering with the running of government.

This means the voter will see injustice and malpractice and punish the ruling regime

In retrospect, the United Progressive Alliance made a big mistake in not giving Nitish Kumar a chance to form a government in February. It's not clear that he could have gathered the necessary numbers -- even after splitting half of the LJP's 29 MLAs by dubious means. But fairness demanded that he not be precluded.

In any case, his government would have been shaky and potentially unviable. Anti-incumbency would probably have created a decent chance for the UPA to return to power honourably. Instead, it sought a shortcut -- and paid for it. This only suggests that respecting norms of democratic decency pays even in politics -- not Machiavellian tactics.

What are the social dynamics underlying the Bihar mandate? What do the results signify for politics in the Gangetic heartland? And what lessons should political parties draw from them?

First and foremost, the electoral verdict is a forceful mandate for ending the 15-year rule of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi. It's a positive vote only secondarily. The electorate's growing disappointment with the personalised Lalu-Rabri Raj has been reflected in the erosion of the RJD's vote-share from 33 per cent in 2000 to 31 per cent in 2004 and 25 per cent in February. It has now fallen to 23 per cent.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the RJD has never depended upon the Muslim-Yadav vote alone. It was always a broad coalition of the poor, and would attract sizable Dalit and MBC (most backward classes) votes.

But there have been clear indications of an erosion of the RJD's Muslim and even Yadav vote (the latter from 88 per cent in 1995 to 78 per cent). Even more grave is the halving of its Dalit vote over 10 years. This time, the greatest erosion probably happened in its MBC and Muslim votes (the Pasmanda, or backward Muslim group led by Ali Anwar, backed the LJP).

By March, a majority of Yadavs alone wanted to give the RJD another chance in government -- only 17 per cent did not. Sixty-four per cent of all voters said 'no' to it, as did 85 per cent of Kurmis, 63 per cent of Dalits, and 56 per cent of Muslims. Only 13 per cent felt the Lalu-Rabri regime was 'good all the way'. Thirty-five per cent felt it was 'bad all the way' and 37 per cent said it began well, but deteriorated.

The Bihar government became the worst-rated regime among 11 recently polled states, with 47 per cent of people dissatisfied with it â two-and-a-half times the average for the other states.

The Lalu-Rabri Raj symbolised bad governance and collapse of public services in health, education, roads and other infrastructure. The development agenda -- which 60 per cent of Biharis identify as the 'biggest' issue, as compared to 24 and 22 per cent in Haryana and Jharkhand -- took a beating. Corruption became rampant. Bihar retrogressed in social indices. Its public finances worsened. Insecurity grew as jobs vanished and disorder spread.

Lalu's greatest virtue -- and attraction for the poor -- lay in giving them 'a voice', or dignity and empowerment. Here he concentrated the best features of the politics of 'social justice' -- recognition for the underprivileged -- which dominates UP and Bihar.

He uniquely communicated with and mobilised vast numbers of subalterns. But Lalu never translated 'social justice' slogans into programmes and policies. 'Social justice' became an empty shell.

His appeal started eroding rapidly after 2000. By early 2005, defeat stared Lalu in the face, its imminence barely masked by the spectacular performance of the RJD-led front in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

Prakash Jha: Nitish is the right man

The Congress, with its limited upper caste-based strength, couldn't reverse the trend. Nitish Kumar campaigned well and won over significant numbers of MBCs and Muslims. Many of his gains came from the smaller parties. He led what might be called a 'coalition of extremes', its core based on the OBC Kurmis and upper castes.

He instilled confidence among the MBCs -- especially the Sahus, Telis, Kewats, Mallahs, etc -- and other marginal groups and formed a united, if temporary, coalition of diverse social forces.

The election result is emphatically not a victory of the BJP or Hindutva. The BJP's ideology wasn't a factor in it. Nor did Uma Bharti & Co appeal to Hindutva. The battle was fought along caste lines.

What triumphed was the very same politics that Lalu represents: of 'social justice', under another leader. Nitish is as deeply rooted in the 'self-respect' politics of the subaltern classes as any other successful politician of the Gangetic plains, which are in the grip of the dual phenomena of OBC self-assertion and Dalit self-empowerment.

The Bihar result will disappoint all those who loathed Lalu precisely because he represented 'populist' politics and barely hid his contempt for elitist, rightwing, neo-liberal ideas.

Nitish belongs to the same political current as Lalu -- the Lohia/Karpoori Thakur Socialists who were drawn into the JP movement. They are both children of Mandal politics. Nitish has a purely expedient relationship with the BJP. He is not communal and recently made overtures to secular parties, although he was silent on the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The town where Nitish is 'Munna'

The National Democratic Alliance will celebrate the Bihar results as its triumph. But it would be gravely mistaken to regard them as signifying its revival.

There are no electoral battles around the corner that the NDA can win. The next elections are in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu where the NDA doesn't count. However, intra-NDA equations will definitely change after Bihar.

Nitish's personal triumph will marginalize Mr George Fernandes within the JD-U. Nitish is the only NDA leader besides Navin Patnaik who can lead a non-BJP party to victory. If the NDA continues to flounder and fray at the margins, and the BJP's crisis worsens, as is likely, Nitish could well look to forming a 'Third Force' front. Over time, he may well be able to shake off his dependence on the BJP in Bihar.

The results are a setback for the UPA, although not a grave one. Its national-level stability isn't in danger so long as the Left backs it -- as it will probably do after the reconciliation of its differences over Iran.

However, the Congress must learn a lesson. It cannot revive itself in UP or Bihar unless it relates to OBC-Dalit self-assertion, in particular the new self-assertion of the MBCs, who are a relatively leaderless but very restive constituency.

The Congress has a golden opportunity here. Its best chance to grow in the Gangetic heartland lies in 'social justice' politics based on marginalized groups and a revival of Indira Gandhi's pro-poor 'populist' model of 1967-1971.

This is a fake policy which the electrorate have thrown away. The development agenda -- which 60 per cent of Biharis identify as the 'biggest' issue, 
This entails that it change its economic and social policies and stop banking on multi-caste, multi-class coalitions in which the upper castes dominate. It's far from clear that the Congress will draw the right lesson and therefore transform itself.

If it doesn't, it could again find itself in decline.

11-29-2005, 08:37 AM

QUOTEThe election result is emphatically not a victory of the BJP or Hindutva. The BJP's ideology wasn't a factor in it. Nor did Uma Bharti & Co appeal to Hindutva. The battle was fought along caste lines.
hahahah!!
first they never mention her OBC but they never hesistate refering others with their caste.
BJP came second, whether Profool B buys it or not.

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