THE outcome of elections to the 24 local body constituencies of Bihar Legislative Council has thrown up new challenges before the Left and democratic forces. The BJP, which managed to bag half of the 24 seats riding on its money power, has now started flexing its muscle over the JD-U, RJD and Congress combine, which poorly imitated the election tactics adopted by the saffron outfit under the leadership of Narendra Modi.

The result has posed a big challenge for the forces at the forefront of challenging the whole trajectory of neo-liberal development and the culture of corruption, the ruling parties at the Centre and in the state have unleashed subverting the election process. Election of dreaded don Reetlal Yadav from the Patna local body constituency defies all the logic of political behavior and mocks at the leadership of Lalu Prasad Yadav, who claims to be the one and only leader of the Yadav community.

The results have thrown up some disturbing trends. North Bihar has overwhelmingly voted in favour of the BJP-led combine and has a big edge over the JD-U, RJD and Congress combine. Does it mean that the people of Bihar have risen above the caste and community affiliations and are voting for the so-called development agenda of BJP? Communist candidates who were fighting the election were at the receiving end as they were neither flush with money nor they indulged in unethical behaviour to win election. So the election result has posed a question before all the democratic forces to take a proper lesson and mobilise the people in defence of democracy in the country which is being hijacked by corporate money bags from behind.

After winning the election, BJP thundered that the OBCs who form the bulk of local body representatives voted in its favour. The statement has been particularly directed against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who was instrumental in providing reservations to women and OBCs in local bodies. It is common knowledge that the local body elections are getting expensive day by day. Since the local bodies, particularly panchayats, are getting huge funds for development projects, they have become a playground for large-scale loot and corruption.

These representatives are up for sale and BJP with lots of money has pushed Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav far behind. BJP and its allies as well as the Lalu-Nitish combine had fielded candidates with dubious characters who have amassed wealth through loot and corruption in the one decade of the BJP-JD-U rule. Most of the victorious BJP candidates come from high caste whereas bulk of the local body representatives is Dalits, women and OBCs. The results also confirm that high caste and middle peasant caste still hold sway over the political and social space of the hinterland of Bihar. It also confirms that until the stranglehold of feudal structure is not demolished, the fruits of reservation will not reach to the oppressed section of the society and they will not able to perform their duties as the representatives of the people at local or state level. Lalu Yadav, in his inimitable style, has described the scenario in the following couplets: Earlier it was “Baap Bada Na Bhaiya/Sabse Bada Rupaiya”; but now it has changed to “Jo Pilaye Whisky/Sab Vote Uski”.

Though liquor flowed like water ahead of the elections, it was money that played a decisive role in favour of BJP. Now the Nitish-Lalu combine, with their neo-liberal friend Congress in tow, will have to prove to be more loyal to the corporate than the BJP because the two combinations facing each other in Bihar are pursuing the same neo-liberal agenda.

Despite all odds, Left forces have got good number of votes in Madhubani, Samastipur, Begusarai, Saharsha, Banka and some other constituencies. Left Parties will raise the issue of subverting the democratic process through money and muscle power in the run up to July 21 July Bihar Bandh.