Indra’s Drishtikona (Viewpoint)

Bihar - Some Myths Demolished and One to be Demolished

Posted : November 23, 2005 at 8:30 pm [IST]

For all who knew Bihar, Lalu appeared as invincible. However, the people of Bihar through their secret ballots provided some surprises that many could not predict. Many myths got demolished.

Myth 1. Lalu is invincible. The result of the election and the landslide victory of Nitish led NDA have proved it otherwise.

Myth 2. Free and fair elections cannot be held in Bihar. For the first time in recent memory, this election proved this myth wrong. One could see a total elimination of the “poll management’, a term used to describe connivance of the poll officials in rigging or the role ‘bahubalis’ (Perhaps don is the right word, I do call them real terrorists too) in acts of booth capturing that tilted the balance towards the criminalizattion of the process. All this could happen because of the will power of just a single Election Commission officer.

Myth3.‘It’s not vikas. It’s about caste‘, - this perception of all Bihar baiters proved wrong. The state has finally cast its vote for change, not voted its caste. The myth of MY- Muslims and Yadavs in block voting for the Lalu’s party has gone in air. Even in Muslim and Yadav dominated regions, political parties branded by Lalu as non-secular and even fundamentalists have been able to obtain votes of both the communities and have won.

Myth 4. Secularism can be a winning point. Secularism in India is deep rooted and in-built in its culture. It raises its ugly head only if some vested interest gets into it and that goes unnoticed before it did the damage. Before Lalu, no one in Bihar used this minority card so well for political gain. This election proved that Muslims love the state equally or more than they love a political party or a political leader. They could not be misled this time. Their votes for NDA parties were significant in number.

All these myths arising out of the terrible conditions in Bihar in last few years were diminishing my faith in the democracy that our intellectuals in Constituent Assembly selected for the country. I am a happy man today and so must be many in India and abroad. Our democracy is robust and dynamic that can take care of abrasions created by the crooked minds.

A myth to be demolished

I wish one more myth -’Bihar can’t move up the scale in Development and Governance Indices fast’- demolished. The new government is starting with Bihar rated presently at the lowermost rank among the Indian states in almost all indicators. Let us hope it moves faster ahead and makes people happy and prosperous. It may be difficult task, but not impossible with the steely willpower of the leader, who is now Nitish with a good track record of governance in central ministries in NDA government.

P.S YASHWANT SINHA writes, ‘A recipe that failed Lalu this time-Lalu Prasad’s vote bank was never enough for a majority; he covered the deficit with rigging’

- Indra

Category: Indian politics |