Amidst the mud-slinging by the Congress Party during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the Bihar electoral rolls, the NDA which political observers predicted might not have smooth sailing this time around, surprised all with its massive win in the Bihar Assembly polls. An upbeat Prime Minister Modi stated on Friday that the victory has given a new ‘MY-Mahila Youth’ formula since people have destroyed the “communal MY formula of the jungle raj people,” alluding to Lalu Yadav’s era. Modi went a step further and took a swipe at the Congress Party saying that the Party would soon witness a big split. Referring to the Nehru-Gandhi family, Modi said the ‘naamdars’ are drowning everyone with them. The poor performance of the Congress Party was certainly not expected. The Bihar results point toward the persistent decline of the Congress in the state. In the 2020 assembly polls, as part of the Mahagathbandhan, Congress had fielded candidates in 70 constituencies. It eventually won 19, polling a mere 9.6 per cent votes. It was blamed for overstating its social and geographical reach, to secure a disproportionate number of constituencies as part of the seat-sharing deal, and pulling the opposition alliance down.
Apart from the fact that the Congress is battling a resources crunch since fighting elections today involves the use of money as a bait for garnering votes, it is also afflicted by poor organisational setbacks. That money and freebies win votes is undeniable. It is simplistic to expect poor, destitute voters to come to the polling booth and cast their votes based on the appeal of a political party. Just before the elections were announced, Nitish Kumar, backed by PM Modi announced the Rs 10,000 scheme for 1.3 crore women. This solidified his women voter base and contributed to a record women voter of over 71 per cent. What also helped the NDA win big was the free electricity given to all domestic consumers up to 125 units. This was a game-changer in villages where people found it difficult to pay their electricity bills.
Many poll observers had written off Nitish Kumar at the early stages of the campaign but he has proven them wrong. So what makes Nitish Kumar such an unshakable force in Bihar? He is a master player as far as elections are concerned and understands voter behaviour in his home state more than his rivals. He has united the economically backward class, Mahadalits and non-Yadav OBCs. Above all he still enjoys the goodwill of women voters who have not forgotten his liquor prohibition policy. They have backed him for two decades. Meanwhile the reaction of the Congress Party to the loss was predictable. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera blamed Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar Gupta, who they have been campaigning against for what they call the “vote chori business.” While Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against the CEC and its alleged large-scale manipulation of the voter’s list at first seemed to yield dividends, in the final analysis it gained nothing. However, it merits being watchful of the Election Commission of India. There is no knowing what level of politics the power holders can stoop to.
