The Bihar Ball-Dance!

Why are the state elections in Bihar so talked about phenomena across the Nation? Or for that matter why is the state of Bihar so very important from a national perspective? Well, it is the third most populous state of the country, the Bihar state politics and dynamics have always had a huge bearing at the center, also the state of Bihar has always been known for its rich cultural heritage, great scholars, the great Maurayan Empire and not to forget it is the land of one of the greatest emperor of all times Asoka and the great Lord Buddha. But of late the main reasons which have kept Bihar in the news are the lawless situation, pathetic means of transportation, traces of roads in the barrens of potholes, paltry levels of literacy, unimaginable levels of crime and last but not the least the ever so ebullient, witty, comic and charismatic Mr. Laloo!

Naturally the recently concluded state elections had to be the talk of the nation, but there was no gentle breeze blowing through Bihar in 2010, it was almost a gale storm, one that literally rewrote the political sociology of the state, yes it was the Nitish gale storm! To lead his alliance in an impressive 206 seats out of a total of 243 and leaving the mighty Laloo & co tottering for just 25 odd seats and congress to a meager 4 seats, is no mean feat. And what is fascinating about this decimation is not the margin of the victory but the manner in which it has been achieved.

Neither NItish nor any of his alliance members used the age old card of caste and creed to woo the masses, rather the focus always remained on a vocabulary unheard of in the state in over two decades: roads, primary health centers, girls’ education and thermal power station. And the rapt attention with which the crowd listened to Nitish was an absolutely beautiful and welcome change. These alien concepts are the ones which the poor man of Bihar has always dreamt of all his life and despite the absence of caste references in Nitish’s speech, he still had the backing of not only all the extremely backward castes, Mahadalits but even the backward Muslims joined his bandwagon of Development. And not even once Nitish’s limitations as a public speaker came as a hurdle in his zest to connect with the masses. Rather the only rhetorical flourish he permitted himself was when he promised to confiscate the property of corrupt officials and set up schools instead.

In fact what has worked in Nitish’s favor at the end of his first five year term is his ability to convert the promises he made to the common man into reality. The triple S formula of sadak, shiksha, suraksha on which Nitish ruled or rather sweated for last five years actually worked in his favor. The gleaming highways and pucca village road’s are Bihar’s new pride, the bicycles for girls studying in ninth standard have become a symbol of women’s empowerment, 50% women reservation in panchayats and ability to just move out after dusk in Patna or Gaya is simply liberating but the biggest achievement of the last 5 years is undoubtedly law and order. In a state which has been lampooned in Bollywood and beyond as a land of thieves and kidnappers, Nitish Kumar has positioned himself as 'The Terminator'.

But the million dollar question is what has gone wrong with the man who once promised to make Bihar’s roads as ‘smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks’ but rather left them as lunar craters? Well the evergreen superstar of Bihar, Shri Shri 108 Laloo Prasad Yadav still offers the best one-liners and you still smile at his jokes but that smile is more out of a nostalgic remembrance of an old comedy film and somehow he is now just a caricature of the rustic king he once was. And even the famous adage which he once coined isn’t holding good anymore because the Samosa still holds the spicy Aloo but there are hardly any signs of Laloo in Bihar. And in true sense the public of Bihar has become too smart to be fooled by the corruption and inefficiency fluently practiced under the sugary coats of comic rhetoric; the development in the last five years has literally butchered the Laloo style of governance.

Naturally with a corrupt and toothless opponent, Nitish’s second home coming was just a matter of formality but the real challenge now for Nitish would be to manage the rising expectations. Though under his leadership education has received a boost, but jobs still remain scarce; Security has been provided, but investments haven’t come in; Crime has been controlled, but petty corruption appears to have grown; Roads have been built, but power still remains a crisis. Well it’s not fair to be utterly critical and pessimistic about Nitish’s future because the resolute nature and perseverance which the man has shown in his tenure is worth every bit of appreciation. But what is even more praiseworthy is the fact that Bihar has truly leapfrogged to the numero uno position in terms of the fastest growing states in terms of development. And the fact that common man in India has understood the importance of development oriented governance over the materialistic lures of liquor and blanket to vote, are the true indicators of India’s bright future in the coming times.

Perspective : With Nitish all set for a long term in Bihar riding on the wave of development, the only other career option which remains for Laloo is that of a standup comedian!


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