Since the din and dust of the analysis of the Bihar election by political pundits and fiery debates on the TRP-hungry news channels seem to have settled down, it may be appropriate to undertake an objective examination to decipher if there is a message to the nation and its rulers.

As a citizen of India, like many others, I was greatly pleased with the outcome of the May 2014 lok Sabha election. The reasons were manifold. First, after several decades, the lok Sabha witnessed an absolute majority by a single party. Second, a decisive and enthusiastic person with a credible record of development of a State was chosen to lead the nation.  And third, (most importantly) the political narrative of the election was transformed from social engineering to economic development. The Indian electorate, cutting across political affiliations, caste and creed preferences, had voted overwhelmingly for the ‘promise of economic emancipation of India’ and comprehensively rejected the alternative thought.

Unfortunately, the result of Bihar Assembly election indicates a return to social engineering. Even though the track-record of last two Nitish Kumar Governments in re-establishing law and order, facilitation of education of the girl-child, the hinterland’s connectivity with markets in urban centres and marginal improvement in economic environment of Bihar, certainly helped Mr Nitish Kumar’s party in particular and his partners of the mahagathbandhan in general, the results were substantially influenced by the narrow narrations overwhelmed by the contours of social engineering.

Whereas it is left to the judgement of political scientists to decipher and describe who pitch-forked the election debate into the horizons of caste, creed, religion etc, the NDA led by the BJP certainly fell into a trap first during the Delhi election and more recently in Bihar, and the agenda of economic development and eradication of poverty was relegated to the backwaters. The canard of ‘intolerance’ was used as rapid fire to defeat the NDA. Success has portends of its continuance in the months and years ahead. Further, the voting patterns and its consequences on the results do suggest that the partners of the mahagathbandhan were able to successfully transfer their committed votes to other partners’ candidates.

It is well known that the RJD led by lalu Prasad, which has since roared into the Vidhan Sabha of Bihar with the largest formation, had earlier ruled the State for 15 years on the back of social engineering  a la social justice. It must be credited for retaining its constituency substantially ever since. The unseemly transfer of votes from one partner to the other in the alliance, which dramatically altered the geometry of numbers, falsified the predictions of almost all the psephologists. Unfortunately, the success of mahagathbandhan, with a rag-tag aggregation of regionally-influencing parties to form a polity in the State, does not augur even remotely of an emergence of bipolar politics, which could have been the significant gain of this election.

Even though it is premature to judge how the alliance partners will conduct and cooperate in the process of governance, their track-record does not inspire confidence. let’s wish the mahagathbandhan all the very best for the governance of the State over the next five years and hope that the political executive’s agenda would be to fulfil the people’s aspirations of economic prosperity rather than to strengthen the muscles and/or enrichment of the legislators and their cohorts. However, the loss to the new  India is the return of the old narrative.

I criss-cross India at least twice a year, visit cities and sometimes villages, and meet people from all sections of society, more so the younger generation. India’s impatience to step out of deprivation and live a life of decency and economic well-being is the prime subject of every social discourse. With 65 per cent of India below 35 years of age, politicians will be risking manifestations of anarchical social disquiet across the country if the economic development agenda does not remain the focus of governance.

Opportunity dawns but once in a while in the life of individuals and societies. Such an opportunity for economic emancipation of the teeming millions has been knocking at India’s door for the last two years. If the political executive in the Union and the States fails to capitalise, it would be written as a wasted opportunity of the century by future historians.

Democracy enables accommodation of a diversity of views and opinions; even the manner of governance. It also provides space and respect for dissent. Whereas rational and logical disagreement to policies, programmes and practices is appreciated, even admired, derailing the construction of the road to prosperity of India may not be tolerated anymore. The electorate will be keenly watching with high expectations, the conduct of the political representatives in the next couple of years, to pronounce their verdict in 2019 which may be even more decisive than that in 2014.

(The writer is former Chairman of SEBI and lIC)