Narendra Modi kicked off his election campaign in Bihar on April 4 from Jamui. This happened as the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav circulated a list of National Democratic Alliance candidates who are relatives of former politicians in the four seats scheduled for polls on April 19 and reports of three dozen politicians cleared of corruption charges after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party.
This list took on BJP’s much-vaunted claim of not promoting dynastic politics. Perhaps because of this and also partly because of the presence of Chirag Paswan, son of the late Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan on the dais, the prime minister refrained from his usual attack of Lalu Prasad Yadav for family politics.
Of course, he attacked Lalu and Tejashwi (without naming them) for the alleged ‘land for job’ scam, asserting that he “wouldn’t spare corrupt leaders”. But Modi’s words came amidst reports of witch hunting against the Aam Aadmi Party leaders and repeated mentions by opposition of several tainted leaders enjoying power and pelf after shifting to the BJP.
The prime minister’s rhetoric was also lacking in freshness. He shied away from speaking on what his government has achieved on the scale of life and livelihood for the people and harped on the same content that he had used during his 2019 campaigns.
“Aaj ka Bharat ghar mein ghus kar marta hai (Today’s India strikes the enemy at home)”, Modi said. He had used pretty much the same words that he had in 2019 in the wake of the terror attack on the Army at Pulwama and the subsequent air-strike at Balakot in Pakistan.
These words in the wake of the Pulwama and Balakot incidents and the dramatic release of Indian Air Force pilot Captain Abhinandan Varthaman were believed to have created a wave in favour of the BJP, fetching it a stupendous victory in 2019 polls. Will the same rhetoric work to the advantage of the BJP, five years down the line?
Also read: Balakot and After, or How to Build a Strategic Doctrine for Political Gain
While he picked on Pakistan, Modi didn’t speak on the reports of China’s alleged advances in Arunachal Pradesh. He dwelt at length on how the Congress and RJD symbolised a “jungle raaj” and how the women were “picked up from the streets” during the RJD-Congress’s rule in Bihar. But he shied away from speaking on the crimes against women in Manipur, flagged by national and international media.
The PM once again described the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as the “conglomeration of arrogant and corrupt leaders joining hands to save their skin from the investigating agencies turning the heat on them.”
Nitish, a pale shadow
Much to the amusement of the audience, the chief minister, Nitish Kumar who shared the dais with Modi, said, “Wo to jhooth-mooth ka ek baar saath karliye thay. Ab kahin nahin jaayeign (Once, for a short while, I had gone to them. I won’t go anywhere now)”. It was the fifth flip-flop in his political career, and his recent switcheroo is still fresh in the minds of the people.
Nitish who once symbolised the power of an articulate rebel against the Modi brand of Hindutva, was lavish in praise of the PM’s “development work”. But he clearly lacked the coherence, confidence and logic he was once known for. Instead of enumerating his own work he attacked Tejashwi (without naming him) for taking credit for jobs that his government provided to the youths when he led the alliance government in the state with Tejashwi as his deputy.
Also read: Bihar: Why Upcoming Lok Sabha Polls Could Spell Doom for Nitish Kumar
Nitish tried to reach out to minorities by saying, “As long as we (the NDA) are together, there will be no communal riots. Our (NDA’s) rule has been free from riots”. Of course, Nitish has hopes of appealing to Muslims who had supported him in a big way in the 2010 assembly elections despite him being in the NDA. But even then, despite his association with the NDA, he had been well known as the fiercest critic of Modi.
Will Muslims who constitute over 17% of the state’s electorate repose the same trust when he is with the BJP under Modi? Will they prefer the NDA over the RJD-Congress-Left combine?
There is hardly any indication, as of now, to suggest that minorities will have any sympathy for Nitish after his switchover to the BJP.
Chirag Paswan
It could be his fear of losing the Jamui seat for the third term in the Lok Sabha or his driving desire to represent Hajipur – the Lok Sabha seat identified with his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s political prowess – Chirag has opted for Hajpur at the cost of his uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras, for the 2024 polls. His Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has fielded his brother-in-law, Arun Bharti against the RJD’s Archana Ravidas, a Dalit woman activist.
Modi praised the late leader and said, “My friend (Ram Vilas Paswan) is no more but I am happy that Chirag Paswan is furthering his ideology and legacy. The response of the crowd suggests that the Jamui voters have made up their mind to vote for the NDA on April 19”.
The PM pointed out that Jamui was in the grip of Naxalism, impeding the construction of roads and other development works as long as the RJD-Congress ruled Bihar. “But the development works have been taking place since the NDA under Nitish Kumar taking over the state”.
However, Jamui bordering Deoghar in Jharkhand, and inhabited by a large number of communities belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, continue to be as backward as ever with roads, schools, basic health centres and other civic amenities still eluding its countryside.
Nalin Verma is a senior journalist, author, media educator and independent researcher in folklore.
