Battle for BiharAssembly polls: Development rivals caste in Bihar-Oct 20, 2010,

Battle for BiharAssembly polls: Development rivals caste in Bihar

REUTERS, Oct 20, 2010, 08.32pm IST


PATNA: Bihar, one of India's most politically important states, holds an election from Thursday that could return to power a leader who has won support on a platform of infrastructure and development over traditional caste ties.

The turnaround of the state, known as one of India's poorest and most lawless regions, is touted as an example of how India can shake off caste politics and promote new roads and power, as well as providing security, to win votes.

A victory for the 59-year-old chief minister, Nitish Kumar, a former engineer, would also be a boost for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is seeking to eat into support of the ruling Congress-party led coalition.

The result of the month-long vote will be known on Nov. 24.

While the next general election is in 2014, the Bihar vote will give an indication of the appeal of the BJP and their allies who have tried to benefit from stubbornly high inflation and a sense of policy drift.

Bihar accounts for 40 of the 545 seats in the Parliament- the fifth largest parliamentary bloc in India. It can play a crucial role in coalition politics.

Challenging Kumar is the charismatic, Lalu Prasad, whose nearly-15 years of power before Kumar was propped up by caste ties. Critics called his rule a "jungle raj", characterised by widespread corruption, economic stagnation and lawlessness.

"Under Nitish's rule, we feel safer," said Munni, a 54-year old fisherwoman in Mohankutiya village, on the banks of the Ganges, 25 km (15 miles) north of Patna. "We saw 15 years of Lalu's rule, and what he didn't do, Nitish has done in five years. He is going to come back (to power)."

Pointing to a new cement road running past her mud hut, she said: "There has been a lot of development in the last five years, we expect he will do more if he comes back."

Congress problems

Kumar's road projects have helped the economy grow at an average of 11.35 percent annually between 2004 and 2009, compared with an annualised 3.5 percent in the previous five years. It has beaten national growth by several percentage points.

The most visible sign of how much things have improved in what used to be a byword for national despair is that people walk at night on the roads in Bihar.

Until a few years ago, even the capital Patna was shut down by the evening, with people locking themselves in their homes, fearing strongmen with guns who used to rob and kidnap.

Opposition parties say apart from a few roads, Kumar has little to show by way of development.

No major industry has come up in the past five years and many poor people say the highways make little difference to their lives. Inflation is also an issue.

Congress leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi, have attacked Kumar saying he was taking credit for centrally funded schemes.

Still, few expect an improvement in Congress' fortunes, despite campaigns by Rahul Gandhi, who is seen as a future prime minister.

Many Muslims, who will determine the fate of almost 60 of Bihar's 243 assembly seats, are also angry with Congress for what they say is the party's muted response to a court verdict that gave Hindus most of the disputed Ayodhya site in Uttar Pradesh where Hindu mobs had torn down a 16th century mosque.

For decades, Bihar's politics revolved around caste groups. It was one of the earliest states to see a political upsurge of the lower castes and to reserve government jobs for them.

The influence of the castes contributed to the decline of the Congress in Bihar, as it was seen as a party of higher castes.

Critics say caste-linked voting gave few politicians any incentive to build roads, hospitals or industries.

Voters have now forced other parties to play catch up. When Kumar gave bicycles to girl students to travel to school, Prasad promised motorbikes.

"Earlier for politicians it was just caste. Now it is caste plus development, with emphasis on development," said political analyst Amulya Ganguli, who expects Kumar to return to power.

While Prasad has his committed voters amongst his Yadav caste and the poor, many supporters say the old ways can not last.

"The days are gone when Lalu could clown and people would vote for him," said 43-year old Mukhtar Alam, referring to Prasad's trademark humour.




Read more: Assembly polls: Development rivals caste in Bihar - The Times of India