A mandate for Nitish Hope Kumar

A mandate for Nitish Hope Kumar


Now, naughtiness apart, do we read a message of socio-economic change on Bihar’s walls? And if so, can politics be immune from it? This was a state with widespread starvation and utter misery, and where a large majority had nothing left to buy anything beyond basic clothing to cover their bodies. Somebody is now trying to sell comfort, good looks, even sex appeal of branded underwear here? Does that mean something has changed? Never underestimate the ability of the Indian FMCG marketeer to sniff out a new emerging market or consumer need. Which is exactly what the underwear boys have done in Bihar. If a state of eight crore people is being lifted from utter poverty to at least a level at which many can aspire to a better quality of life than mere survival, you would expect tens of millions to invest in basic comfort — like decent knit underclothing.

Socio-economic change inevitably finds political expression, and if it reflects in the results this Wednesday you could say that it was the first time in the history of democracy when branded underwear predicted an election better and earlier than any psephologists.