If there is one thing that has stood out in the Bihar election campaign, it is the return to issues that matter. Initially there was a concern, especially when the Sushant Singh Rajput controversy surfaced that this might dominate the Bihar polls, more so when this was made into a Bihari asmita (pride) versus Maharashtrian pride. But, perhaps it was the pandemic and the real-life issues it threw up to the surface, one has not heard much about the Sushant Singh Rajput case on the campaign field. Instead, we are hearing issues that matter: jobs predominantly.
Yes, a lot of it has to with the pandemic and the job loss, added to the fact that a large part of Bihar migrates to states outside to find work. However, during Covid-19, they have been rendered jobless and had to return home to a state that doesn’t offer any alternatives either. Which is why when young Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD leader and the main face of the Opposition, promised 10 lakh (government) jobs annually, he hit a chord. Don’t forget the demographics of Bihar which has around 58 percent of its population between 18 and 40 years. Amongst these are not just first-time voters but also young graduates and job seekers. Initially the NDA made a mistake when it ridiculed Tejashwi asking him where he would find so many jobs. But sensing the mood on ground, the BJP did a quick turn-around and fielded the finance minister to launch its manifesto, which promised 19 lakh jobs. However bigger is not always better; it also has to sound realistic. Tejashwi was quick to pick up the mantle and announce that he had done his maths. There were already four-and-half lakh government jobs in the posts of junior engineers, doctors and teachers lying vacant. All he had to do was to create five-and-half lakh in his first year to deliver on his promise : What was the BJP’s game plan?
The BJP still has to answer but at least the young Yadav has got it focusing on issues that matter. However, there are still enough party leaders who insist on talking about Article 370, Pulwama, CAA and that old bogey of nationalism at local rallies. When will the party realise that every election is not a test of one’s patriotism? And that it’s not the voters who are being tested but the politicians, on the basic issues of roti, kapda and makaan, not some grand ethereal concepts of nationalism. One thought the party might have learnt its lesson both in Delhi and Maharashtra Assembly polls when Arvind Kejriwal and Sharad Pawar thwarted every move by the BJP to make a local election into a test of nationalism by raking up CAA and Article 370. But, it seems as if the BJP hasn’t moved on.
And for a party that claims nationalism as its calling card, how does it explain its promise of free vaccines only for Bihar? What about the rest of the country? Is the vaccine simply a sop to woo targeted vote-banks? Many BJP leaders including Bhupender Yadav have valiantly tried to explain this statement as a policy statement but while it may have some impact on ground, what does it say about the outlook of a party that claims to be India’s largest political outfit?
As for Rahul Gandhi, he is also reminding the voters about the ills of demonetisation, of migrant workers who were abandoned by the Bihar government, and of course the threat from China, but given the fact that the Congress doesn›t have a sizeable on-ground presence one is not sure what impact his rallies will make.
Bihar goes to vote today. On the eve of the first phase of polling, the opinion polls have given the NDA an edge. It also seems that Chirag Paswan›s choreographed little revolt hasn›t taken off (going by the opinion polls). However, reporters on the ground tell a different story. They talk of both Tejwashwi and Chirag Paswan making an impact (at least those appearing on my show Roundtable on NewsX) and even speculate on the possibility of the two coming together as a youthful alternative to the Nitish-Modi combine. Even if that does not happen and the polls are proved right, at least Tejashwi has managed to get the poll narrative to focus on issues that matter. That itself is no mean achievement.