THE election campaign in Bihar is at its zenith. But the people are at a loss to see that the political discourse has touched the lowest depth. Accusations and counteraccusations in filthy languages are flying thick and fast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is himself leading the pack by using a language with derogatory overtones and sometimes openly pandering to the casteist and communal feelings. The leaders like Giriraj Singh, Ashwini Choubey and others are openly communalising the atmosphere by commenting on sensitive issues like consumption of cow-meat and vitriol against the minority community. The waning of Modi’s wave and the anti-people policies pursued in the last 17 months of central rule, along with soaring prices of pulses, onions and other essential commodities have left the BJP without any positive agenda to influence the voters in a very complex society like Bihar where BJP derives its main strength from the higher caste population, though in the recent past it has been able to rope in some influential middle caste leaders and dalit leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi to its side. But the views expressed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat regarding reservation has alarmed the backward, dalit and other beneficiaries of reservation and has sent shock waves in the ranks and the leadership of Bihar BJP who are in a damage control mode and are repeating umpteen times that they are in favour of reservations. But the willy politician Lalu Prasad has pounced upon this statement of RSS chief and has milked this issue to the hilt. With Bunch of thoughts by Guru Golwalkar in his hand, he is challenging the BJP leaders to burn the book of their ideological guru as he was totally against reservation and actually stood for varnashram dharma. There is so much panic in the BJP leadership that PM Modi had to come out in defence of reservations but giving it a communal twist, he alleged that Maha gathbandhan people are trying to give 5 percent reservation to the minority community thus depriving the backwards and dalits of their quotas. Modi always shows his true colours when he has to say something about minorities, thus the entire discourse has over shadowed the real issues facing the common people of Bihar. It suits both the formations because they don’t have any different development trajectory. Both want to befool the people and divert their attention from the pressing problems of their daily needs with divisive slogans of religion, caste and community and want to garner their votes. The entire cabinet of Modi is moving around in Bihar and the PM himself has made Bihar his second home whenever he finds time after his foreign tour. It’s a do or die situation for BJP and it wants to grab the power in Bihar by hook or by crook. No stone is being unturned for realising this dream. Money, caste, religion whatever ammunition is there in its armoury, it is using everything to reach its goal. But Bihar is a very tough terrain and it is a hard nut to crack. As the election process is in its last leg, the prospect does not seem bright for the BJP and its allies. The Maha gathbandhan has also a lot to answer to the people of Bihar as they are ruling Bihar for the last 25 years. They have no answer about the land reform, common schools system, agrarian crisis leading to suicides by the peasants, providing public health services, homes to the homeless, generation of employment to stem the tide of migration of rural poor, providing toilets and clean water to the teeming millions of the state. So, the people of Bihar are being drowned in the cacophony of “Shaitan, Brahm Pishach” 3 idiots and other such abusive languages used day-in and day-out by the leaders of both the bourgeois landlord formations. In this depressing situation, the coming together of Left parties has come as a fresh air. They have a well-defined agenda for the development with land reform in the centre of development trajectory of pre-dominantly agrarian economy of Bihar. Only by freeing the economy from shackles of feudal land relations and unleashing the productivity of the peasants, with agro-based industry in place, will bring the state on par with the other developing states. The government will have to invest in agriculture, particularly in irrigation and other infrastructure and provide inputs, loan through financial institutions and marketing facility along with remunerative price as recommended by Swaminathan Commission. Free education and health care with social security and welfare net for the poor and the vulnerable sections of the society be provided. Left has also given voice for special sub-plan for the upliftment of dalits and minorities. 35 Kg of wheat and rice at subsidised rates of Rs 2 and 3 along with other essential commodities should be provided to ensure food security to the entire population. The development trajectory projected by the Left block does not transcend the capitalist framework but certainly it challenges the neo-liberal policies pursued by the central and state landlord bourgeois rule. They are not even ready to put the money in the hands of the working people, who are responsible for the GDP growth of the country but they are being forced to eke out a miserable life. The present economic backwardness is the outcome of the 68 years rule of landlord bourgeois regime, which is responsible for the loot of natural resources of Bihar on the one hand and depriving the state of its legitimate revenue, which according to an economist Mohan Garsuswane (Frontline) has ballooned to the tune of Rs 10 lakhs crores. Has the present leadership of the BJP the strength to compensate Bihar for its six decades long deprivation? Can Nitish fight against BJP’s neo-liberal policies? The answer is a big No. It is only the Left block which has come out with an alternative agenda before the exploited people of Bihar and has carried out the campaign high lighting those issues. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau members Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Hannan Mollah, Md Salim and Central Committee member Sudha Sundarraman have campaigned extensively from the first phase of election till the third phase and have addressed dozens of mass meetings. Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Md Salim will further address meetings for the fourth and the last phase of the election. The Left block leaders have drawn the attention of the common people of Bihar and the Left candidates are getting good response from the voters too. Though it is a highly polarised election, but the Left block has made a distinct mark by raising the bar of political discourse and certainly the Left will be able to send good number of representatives in the assembly.