lalu Prasad back with his old divisive gameplan
Given the strong caste equations that prevail in Bihar, it is not surprising that political parties in the run-up to the Assembly election there have been careful to not upset the caste applecart. From issuing public statements to distribution of tickets, parties have kept the caste factor in mind. However, it is one thing to take such considerations into the micro-management of the forthcoming election and quite another to project the poll as a battle between the upper castes and the rest. Unfortunately, this is what Rashtriya Janata Dal chief lalu Prasad has been trying to do — and he has been served with a notice by the election Commission of India for that. lalu Prasad is an old hand at caste politics and he has used caste to divide society and consolidate his votes. But times have changed, and caste is no longer the sole or even the dominating factor in electing public representatives, even in Bihar. lalu Prasad succeeded in his strategy in the 90s, but Bihar has moved on since then. The State's youth are not blinded by loyalty to their caste, at least not to the extent that they are prepared to ignore considerations of development. lalu Prasad has promised a return to Mandal politics in case the grand alliance, of which the RJD is a part, comes to power. On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA has chosen to focus on the agenda of development without discrimination. BJP leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi down have been consistently harping on the need to empower Bihar with jobs for the youth, industrial development and enhanced agricultural growth. They have spoken of the need to overhaul the creaking education and healthcare systems in the State. Given lalu Prasad's strident casteist tone, the NDA has naturally pitted the Assembly election as one between development and caste politics. The RJD supremo is using the caste card not merely out of habit but also because he has nothing else to showcase. He is a convict out on bail; his tenures as Chief Minister were marked by a breakdown in law and order across the State, earning the epithet of ‘jungle raj'. His failures on all developmental fronts prepared the ground for a new political narrative in Bihar, with Mr Nitish Kumar leading the successful campaign for a change. That change eventually came, with Mr Nitish Kumar and the BJP teaming up to oust the RJD regime.
It is this history which has now created an embarrassment for Mr Nitish Kumar, who has in sheer desperation tied up with lalu Prasad to counter the might of the BJP-led NDA. His promise of development and an effective law and order situation goes against his alignment with lalu Prasad, who, in public memory in the State more than anywhere else, symbolises all that has gone wrong with the Bihar story. In the process, Mr Nitish Kumar has become complicit in the RJD's regressive gameplans, including the brazen display of caste politics that seeks to trump the sane voice of development.