Bihar election is all about hope, period-Oct 31, 2010,

Battle for Bihar
Bihar election is all about hope, period

Yogendra Yadav, Oct 31, 2010, 04.29am IST


A travel through Bihar has always been something of a pilgrimage for me. It cleanses my mind and soul of the complacency and cynicism that we all pick up in Delhi. And of course, there is the charm of dahi-choora and litti-chokha.

Pilgrimage apart, this time i had three questions as i travelled for six days through north and northeastern Bihar. Has something really changed in Bihar, outside Patna and other urban centres? If yes, do ordinary people, especially from the lower orders, register this change? And, if yes again, will this positive sentiment translate into votes for the JD(U)- BJP alliance in this election?

Years of Bihar-watching have taught me not to go by received images and wisdom. Statistics are dodgy; the national media is either gullible or hostile and the local media suffers from an uppercaste mindset. I was told that the Nitish Kumar government has used not-so-subtle tactics to ensure good press for itself. There was no substitute to checking things for oneself.

At least a part of the answer was clear by the end of the second day on the road, as the vehicle and its occupants survived the many forays beyond the highways. The little journey through Nepal served as a contrast and a reminder of what roads used to be. An earlier expedition from Muzaffarpur to Sitamarhi, a 57-km stretch, took seven hours. The roads in Bihar now may not compare with the best in the country, but they are way better than what they used to be five years ago. Does the quality of road make a difference to those who do not own motorable vehicles? I asked this question and was promptly silenced by some passengers waiting for a bus to Darbhanga. It used to take them a full day to transport a critically ill patient to the medical college there.

Now it takes three hours. The improvement in law and order is no less dramatic. Gone are the days of brazen rangadaari, of extortion, loot and kidnappings with open political patronage. These practices have not completely disappeared. Before the elections, Nitish bought peace with some of the political dons. Yet the contrast with the past is there for everyone to notice. And it matters even to the landless labourer who can now ply his rickshaw without the fear of being dragged for begaar (unpaid labour).

We chose the Musahar tola of Kanauli village, a stone's throw from the Nepal border, to check if 'development' had reached the last person. Most of the students in the two-room school get books, uniform and a mid-day meal, but perhaps not much education. Elsewhere, people had reported that government doctors have started attending the rural health centres, but there was no hospital around this locality. Yes, every family had a job card under MNREGA, but could not recall the last time anyone got work under that scheme. Migration to Delhi and Punjab remains the main source of livelihood. There is still no electricity here. Let Nitish come back to power, they said, and this time we will wrangle real electricity, not just the elusive solar lamp.

This is when it struck me— this election is not about vikas (development) or even about bipaas (bijali, paani, sadak). This is really about aas (hope). Bihar is still a long way from development that could change the life conditions of every person. We are not talking good governance, just governance. The five years of Nitish Kumar government — his government, neither NDA's, nor JD(U)'s --has delivered hope in Bihar, perhaps after three decades. This hope is shared across the caste and class divide.

Finally, the tough question: will this hope translate into votes? Or will caste trump development, as the media puts it? I have always been uneasy with this formulation. For one thing, Nitish Kumar has his own caste equations. He does face a little disenchantment of the upper castes, especially Rajputs, and the reconsolidation of the Yadavs behind the RJD, which he can more than make up for by the likely gains among the lowest OBCs (the EBC), dalits except Paswans (mahadalits) and Muslims. In any case, it is not caste versus development in this election.

Most voters, in Bihar or anywhere for that matter, view governance or development from their own social location. Caste appears to be the only factor when there is not much to choose from in terms of development or governance. Actually, caste provides a lens through which they view and assess the work of any government —it is not a blinder. If a government is seen to have done work, then a small slice from each of the caste-blocs shifts sides. This is enough to change electoral outcomes. It is not as if Bihar has taken off the lens of caste. It is just that the power of this lens has changed, allowing for a better visibility of development. That is a powerful change.

Yogendra Yadav is senior fellow at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies


Read more: Bihar election is all about hope, period - The Times of India