Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar has once again emerged as a kingmaker. In Bihar, the BJP owes its victory this time entirely to Nitish Kumar, who commands control over a chunk of voters from the Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs), Kurmis, Kushwahas (Koeris) and Dalits. It is because of his vote bank that the BJP could win 12 seats out of 17 seats it contested in Bihar.
The JD(U) emerged as the single largest party by winning 14 out of 16 seats it contested this time. Under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, the NDA maintained its lead over the INDIA bloc allies led by Tejashwi Prasad Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the tough one-and-one contest in all the forty seats in Bihar. However, the NDA tally dropped by eight seats this time compared to its tally of 39 seats it had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
It's allies - the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) led by Chirag Paswan and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) led by former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi won five seats and one seat respectively thanks to the JD(U). This election also brought little cheer for the RJD, which won four seats out of 23 it contested after a lapse of a decade. It had won four seats in 2014 in alliance with Nitish Kumar. The RJD suffered a jolt as Lalu Prasad Yadav's younger daughter Dr Rohini Acharya lost to BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran.However, Lalu's elder daughter Misa Bharti inflicted a crushing defeat to former union minister Ram KripalYadav.The JD(U) leader has come as a saviour for the BJP as it was being projected that the social justice plank championed by Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi might impede the progress of the Modi juggernaut in Bihar. Sensing trouble, the BJP had roped in Nitish Kumar into the NDA fold just before the elections.
The election results have established that the votes of the Extremely Backward Caste (EBC) constituting 36 per cent of the total population in Bihar still remain loyal to Nitish Kumar. The 5-kg ration given to the below poverty line (BPL) families has also worked in favour of the NDA in the state. The BJP leaders also give credit for this victory to Nitish for clean image and unwavering stand on pariwarvaad (family) in politics.
The Bihar chief minister has been averse to pariwarvaad like Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His clean image has definitely given us an edge," said state BJP president and deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Though the opposition gave a spirited fight under Tejashwi, the core issues raised by him including employment, inflation, safeguarding Constitution and communal hatred did not cut much ice with the electorate. His 'jobs to youth' narrative caught the fancy of the youth but it was lost to caste considerations.
The poll outcome doesn't augur well for the smaller parties like the Rashtriya Lok Morcha led by Upendra Kushwaha and Vikassheel Insaan Party led by Mukesh Sahani. Both failed to open theiraccount.The verdict will have cascading effect on the likely poll scenario in 2025 state assemblyelections. With weaker BJP at the Centre and its dependence on Nitish Kumar in Bihar, a new political axis may develop after the government formation at the Centre.
The author is a senior journalist.