The Rajya Sabha election to send 5 members from Bihar went in favour of the NDA with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar leading the tally. Despite the support of the five member AIMIM legislative group and one from the BSP, the Mahagathbandhan failed to keep its flock together and three out of six legislators of the Congress party and one of the RJD did not participate in voting, remaining incommunicado till the time the vote ended, thus paving the way for the fifth candidate of the NDA to win.

The Rajya Sabha election result has further strengthened the grip of the BJP in the NDA and it is also forcing the Chief Minister to leave Bihar. It has exposed the weaknesses of the Mahagathbandhan allies, particularly the Congress and the RJD, which are not prepared to fight the BJP and its sinister politics on the ideological plane. The candidate selected by the RJD was not to the liking of the legislators of the RJD and the Congress. The CPI(M) and CPI(ML) legislators voted in favour of the RJD candidate due to their political commitment to fight the BJP and its fascistic ideology. After the result those who defied the party mandate were awarded with the chairmanship of different committees with all the pelf and privileges of a minister.

So the question is being raised is, what is in store for Bihar. Will it go the UP way or will it be able to preserve the secular ethos and vibrant left and social justice politics ?

The BJP is putting its pawns cautiously on the chessboard. After removing Nitish Kumar from Bihar politics, they are eyeing the vote bank nurtured by Nitish Kumar in his two decades long rule.

He galvanised the OBCs, Dalits, women and even a section of Muslims in his favour against the RJD’s vote share of around 20%. No formation could ignore Nitish Kumar and he utilised his unique position in Bihar politics to the hilt by acquiring the infamous sobriquet of Paltu Ram.

It must be said to his credit that he performed well in developing infrastructure, providing electricity, empowering women by reserving 50% seats in local self-government, and providing employment through the Jeevika network. In his initial years, providing bicycles to girls was a liberating decision in a society like Bihar where discrimination between boys and girls is rampant. In later years, he shifted to big projects like a world class museum in Patna, big conference halls, development of jungle safaris, flyovers and Metro train etc.

Though the physical structures of new hospitals and schools have come up, they lack adequate teachers, doctors and other facilities.

The mushrooming of private clinics and private schools have put a big question mark on the right to free education and free health care. In its two decades of rule, the government has failed to nurture the cottage industries producing textiles, leather, goods etc. SMEs in districts died their natural death due to government apathy and lack of an industrial policy. Agro-based industries remained outside the industrial policy of the government which boasts of production of high-quality mangoes, makhana, litchi, maize, bananas etc. Most of the sugar industries are closed.

Lack of industries and the crisis of agriculture have forced the rural poor of Bihar to migrate to far off places to keep the fire burning in their kitchens. We have witnessed the mass homebound exodus of workers from different cities all over the country during the pandemic. The story has been repeated during the America-Iran war with workers from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi returning enmasse as they cannot bear the cost of small gas cylinders.

In the daily briefing by the government, they have been repeating ad nauseam that there is no dearth of LPG.

The ruling class does not care about the suffering of the working class and the Bihar government has no plan to provide work inside the state even to mitigate the present crisis. With Bihar facing rising unemployment, decaying public institutions, deteriorating law and order problems leading to broad daylight murders, rapes of women and girls and stories of corruptions coming to the fore, the ruling alliance in Bihar is engaged in choosing its Chief Minister. The BJP has won this round but will the people of Bihar allow it to ruin the secular ethos of Bihar?

This is the challenge before the people of Bihar and particularly the left and secular forces who have great stakes in blocking the path leading to the UP way.