Foreign diplomats line up for Bihar polls

Utpal Bhaskar / Mint
The forthcoming assembly elections in Bihar have caught the attention of foreign diplomats posted in Delhi. Many of them are visiting the state to gauge the mood ahead of the elections, which is being viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the centre.
In fact, many diplomats are travelling across the state rather than doing the perfunctory Patna darshan (visit), and have been sending exhaustive reports to their foreign offices. more

Owaisi: BJP's lovable 'enemy' in Bihar polls

Abdul Qadir / ToI
Rajesh Khanna starrer 'Dushman' movie's title song 'dushman dushman jo doston se pyara hai' was a big hit in the seventies. Four decades later, Owaisi, the vitriolic Parliamentarian from distant Telangana has given real meaning to the apparently contradictory title song. Having conducted Seemanchal's political recce, Asaduuddin Owaisi has emerged as BJP's most lovable enemy, says activist Md. Moosa. more

Bihar: The Great Election Scare

Tufail Ahmad / Open
The business of scaring Muslims moves into top gear as election campaigns gain momentum. The Urdu press, which has some influence among Muslims, often serves the zamindar and the clerical class in this; even Hindu-owned Urdu dailies do the same.
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Frightening the Muslim voter is an electoral device: the newly stitched alliance of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal- United (JD-U), Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi is currently being presented as a saviour of Muslims.
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The politics of scaring the Muslim voter works. In 2014, the BJP won 31 of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, but its only Muslim candidate Shahnawaz Hussain lost from Bhagalpur. In the 2010 Assembly polls, Saba Zafar was the only Muslim BJP candidate to win from Amour seat in Purnea district. It is impossible to imagine that Muslims in Bihar will vote BJP this year. more

It is not easy for the BJP to target Nitish

Rahul Kumar / DNA
Despite two massive public gatherings in Saharsa and Muzaffarpur, and several tempting announcements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, why does Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) seem uncomfortable to take on Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar directly?​ In his speeches, Narendra Modi, unlike his campaigns during Lok Sabha polls, had nothing much to talk about his real rival Nitish Kumar.
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Anti-Incumbency is one of the main reasons why BJP was supported not just in LS polls but Haryana and Rajasthan assembly elections too. There is yet no such notion in Bihar for the BJP to be benefited.
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Nitish Kumar has been ruling Bihar for 10 years now, out of which 7.5 years was shared with the BJP under National Democratic Alliance. Two years are probably a very short period for BJP to come up with something concrete against the current chief minister of Bihar who hardly has a taint on his image.
more

Who will benefit from Owaisi's entry in Bihar?

Owaisi is going to be both a dividing and a uniting factor in Bihar. While he can divide the Muslim voters, he is going to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) consolidate Hindu votes behind it. There is no denying the fact that the one party extremely happy over Owaisi's entry into Bihar is the BJP. more

Patel stir could hurt BJP's chances in Bihar

Anita Katyal / Scroll
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi fails to put an early end to the agitation for OBC status by the Patel community in Gujarat, there is a strong possibility the protests could hurt the Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral prospects in Bihar, political observers suggest.
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Until this week, BJP leaders have been confident that their party has a clear edge over its rivals in the coming assembly polls. But the renewed debate on caste-based quotas could well shift the debate from economic development to reservations. In such a situation, the BJP may find it difficult to articulate its position in the election campaign.
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Political observers point to a notable precedent in the 1970s of events in Gujarat having an influence on politics in Bihar: the Nav Nirman Andolan launched by students and middle-class professionals in the western state inspired Jayaprakash Narayan to start a similar movement in Bihar. more

Yadavs pledge to lend full support to JD(U)

Ravish Tiwari / ET
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invoked his links to Dwaraka in Gujarat during his prime ministerial campaign in 2013 and reinvoked it during his rally at Muzaffarpur on July 25 to woo the Yaduvanshi (Yadav) community towards the BJP, but the community seems determined to ignore his appeal and wield Arrow, the Janata Dal (U) symbol, for the forthcoming assembly polls in Bihar.

Though not sampled in a scientifically representative fashion, but ET while travelling to Gaya, Aurangabad, Sasaram, Bhabhua, Nawada, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul, Purnea, Darbhanga, Motihari, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali etc did not reflect members of Yadav community, young and elderly alike, saying that they would not vote for Arrow if their seat went to JD(U) under the alliance with Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal. They asserted their support to RJD-JD(U) alliance. more

Bihar may decide the fate of Sensex in September

Varun Sinha / NDTV
At a time when domestic stock markets have been rattled by developments in China, some economists are busy tracking the political developments in Bihar, where elections are due in the next couple of months.
The upcoming Bihar assembly elections will not only be a test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, but is expected to decide the course of domestic stock markets, analysts say. more

Bihar poll the real test for Modi

Amitava Mukherjee / IANS
The electoral behaviour of the Hindi-speaking states in the Indo-Gangetic plain is always influenced by caste factors and here, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, a former chief minister and one of the principal players of caste-based politics in India, have stolen a march by stitching up an alliance and announcing their respective share of seats. 
There is reason for the Bharatiya Janatta Party (BJP) to feel a bit rattled as it cannot field an equally powerful counter-combination of castes and, therefore, has fallen back on its slogan of "development" as can be understood from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of a grant of Rs.1.25 lakh crore for Bihar. more

Bihar’s journey from Lalu to Nitish

Ashok Mishra / HT
Bihar’s income witnessed its slowest growth during the twin rules of Lalu Prasad and wife Rabri Devi spanning 15 years from 1990 and the overall economic decline earned the state the Bimaru tag, an acronym used for financially-sick states.
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A strong wave of anti-incumbency and a calculated caste arithmetic catapulted the JD(U)-BJP combine led by Nitish Kumar to upstage the RJD regime in the November 2005 assembly polls.
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Kumar’s first task was to restore people’s faith in law-enforcing agencies. To demystify the myth that crime could not be kept on a tight leash in Bihar, he focused on quick disposal of pending cases registered under the arms act.
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Bihar soon made strides on various development indices and achieved a growth rate of 14.5% in 2013-14 with agriculture, healthcare, education and allied sectors making it one of toppers among the states. more

AIMIM and BJP will feed off each other in Bihar

Devanik Saha / dailyO
AIMIM's decision to contest elections in Bihar has come a bit late but it appears that AIMIM and BJP are hands in gloves with each other as their core vote banks are exactly opposite. Their ideologies and respective leaders' statements might make it seem that they are professed enemies, but there are quite some similarities between the two. more

Lessons from Delhi For Bihar Polls

Sumit Pande / CNN IBN
Nitish is showing signs of having learnt from the past mistakes. His immediate and timely counter to Prime Minister’s Bihar rallies is a sign of due diligence and preparedness. His biggest challenge however remains not BJP but inherent contradiction in his alliance with Lalu Yadav. Simply put, Nitish Kumar wants Lalu Yadav’s votes but not his political legacy.
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The challenge for the BJP on the other hand is to minimise the incremental loss due to unravelling of empty signifiers which underpinned the party campaign in 2014. Empty signifiers as populist political rhetoric can collapse very fast if juxtaposed with specific timelines.
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With people increasingly seeking to know the tangible benefits of Acche Din, BJP in Bihar will have to run a parallel narrative to convince people that a BJP led state government is best suited to develop Bihar in tandem with a friendly dispensation at the centre. more

BJP looks for caste fillip for Bihar polls

Mammen Matthew, HT
Although caste-based politics lay dormant in the face of a Narendra Modi wave during the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is taking no chances this time.

To begin with, the BJP has not named a chief-ministerial candidate to lead the NDA juggernaut for fear of alienating other castes. In an effort to take on the grand alliance, it is also reaching out to the politically significant lower caste Kushwahas.

But it may not be a cakewalk for the BJP.  The Modi factor may still be potent but in the face of a combined opposition for
the first time, it is imperative to forge a caste realignment. more

Bihar polls among factors in religious data release

Vijaita Singh / Hindu
The religious data of Census 2011 were released on Tuesday after the Registrar-General of India (RGI), who reports to the Home Ministry, got a clearance from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). 

A senior official said the coming Bihar Assembly elections were also a factor behind the data release.

Before it came to power, the BJP made it clear that it would release the data once it assumed office. “The data had been computed and was ready to be released even earlier this year, but it was not released following the lack of political will,” said a senior government official. more

Growing BJP and unknown Pappu

Santosh Singh / IE
Yadav-dominated Kosi belt is now at a crossroads with the BJP emerging a possible alternative after the NDA split. Also, Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav’s exit from the RJD has upset the calculations of the Congress-RJD-JD(U) alliance in this belt as well as the adjacent Muslim-dominated Seemanchal.

These two regions, comprising 37 assembly seats, are where Pappu Yadav is hoping to score with his new party. The region is traditionally a weak spot for the NDA. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP could not win any of the seven seats in Kosi and Seemanchal. Of the 13 assembly seats in the Kosi belt, the NDA holds only Saharsa.
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Ask anyone about Pappu Yadav and the answer veers around him proving a “vote katwa” between the NDA and Congress-RJD-JD(U) alliance. Since Pappu met PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, there has been speculation about a possible tie-up or a friendly fight in Seemanchal and Kosi. more

Can Nitish do in Bihar what Kejriwal did in Delhi?

Ashok Kumar Upadhyay / dailyO
If one cannot question the personal integrity of Arvind Kejriwal, Nitish Kumar's rivals too cannot claim that he has made money from politics. While Kejriwal is the product of the anti-corruption movement, the Bihar CM is the product of JP's "Sampoorna Kranti" movement, which established the first non-Congress government at the Centre.
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Conventional wisdom suggests that Nitish can’t achieve in Bihar what Kejriwal has done in Dehi. But the answer cannot be given with certainty. Indian politics is full of surprises. In case he beats the odds, the Bihar CM will emerge as one of the biggest challengers for Modi in 2019. If he fails, October 2015 will eclipse his political future. more

Family matters in Bihar poll battle

Kumar Vikram / Mail Today
Whether it is the BJP, RJD, JD(U) or the newly-formed Hindustan Awami Morcha (HAM) led by Mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, several second-generation names are in the race to enter the poll fray.
The list starts with Tej Pratap, who has the blessings of his parents — both former chief ministers — Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi. His candidature has already been announced for the Mahua Assembly constituency. The younger son Tejashwi Yadav will most probably be given the Sonpur seat.
The eldest among the Yadav siblings Misa Bharti might contest from the Raghopur.
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BJP leaders are also not far behind in seeking fortunes for their sons in the upcoming political contest. Sources in the state BJP said that senior BJP leader from Bihar CP Thakur is trying for his son Vivek, a former MLC, from Digha Assembly seat.
BJP leader Maharaja Kamal Singh’s grandson Shivang Vijay is also trying to get the ticket from the Dumraon seat. The Saffron party’s Sasaram MP Chhedi Paswan is lobbying for his son Ravi Paswan from Chenari. Former state minister Jagdanand Singh’s son Sudhakar Singh is also vying for the Ramgarh seat. more

BJP adamant on contesting 170 seats

IANS
"The BJP will contest nearly 170 seats, there is no question of anything less than that," Ashwani Kumar Choubey, an MP and a former minister, said in Bhagalpur.

Choubey was replying to statements from leaders of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) that the BJP must contest only 102 seats and leave the remaining 141 to its three allies.

"There is no one in the country to advise the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about seat sharing within the NDA," he said. more

'Lalu Stronger', So BJP to Focus on Nitish

 Rahul Shrivastava / ndtv
The BJP, which will launch what it calls phase two of its Bihar campaign this week, assesses that Lalu Prasad and his Rashtriya Janata Dal will be its toughest opponent in the Assembly elections due by November and not Nitish Kumar.
Nitish Kumar, who made a comeback as Bihar Chief Minister in February this year, has "lost his USP," say BJP leaders and the party will focus it energies on attacking him. The BJP is eyeing the 100 constituencies that Mr Kumar's Janata Dal (United) will contest and which will have no Lalu factor. more

NDA seat sharing: It is advantage BJP

Abdul Qadir / ToI
Strange are the ways of politics. BJP, in retrospect, is the main beneficiary of the smooth seat sharing arrangement made by the JD(U), RJD, Congress combine. Reason being that with nowhere to go Ram Vilas Paswan and Upendra Kushwaha will have to accept whatever seat is offered by the main alliance partner.
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According to Shivanand Tiwari, former MP and an insider of Bihar politics for more than two decades, the Lalu-Nitish alliance has made both the RLSP and LJP vulnerable to BJP blackmail. Had there been no Mahagatbandhan, both Kushwaha and Paswan could have played tantrums with 'Maike Chali Jaungi' like threat. more

Will Owaisi succeed where others failed?

Dhirendra K Jha / Scroll
No sooner had Asaduddin Owaisi announced that his party, the Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, will contest the upcoming Bihar assembly elections that he was being described as the big spoiler in the race.

At the rally in Kishanganj, he hit out at Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar, claiming that they were trying to exploit Muslims by creating a fear of the Bharatiya Janata Party. His intent was clear: to woo the region’s minorities. The 46-year-old lawyer demanded a special package for Seemanchal, the unofficial name for the four Muslim-dominated north-eastern districts of Bihar (30-40% of the population in Araria, Katihar and Purnia, and about 70% of the population in Kishanganj).

Will Owaisi, the firebrand leader, break from the trend of the past? The voters of Bihar will reveal soon enough. more

The state that could break Modi's India

Tom Lasseter & Kartikay Mehrotra / BloombergBusiness

In a few months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party will face the first in a series of state elections that are key to his ability to transform India’s economy. If he wins, Modi could dominate the nation’s politics for decades. If he loses, India faces more years of deadlock dragging on growth.

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More than anywhere, Bihar reflects the challenge Modi faces in overhauling modern India. A vast, landlocked plain bordering the Himalayan nation of Nepal to the north and bisected by the Ganges, India’s holiest river, the state is home to about one in 12 Indians. 
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To understand how Bihari elections have long worked, you should watch the “Godfather” films about the Italian Mafia, said Shaibal Gupta, who runs two development research centers in Patna, including one formed with the government. “Suppose I murder you -- my stock will increase in society. I will be sought after by the political parties, I will be given tickets to fight elections.” more

Bihar Allies's Rahul Snub is Sonia's Dilemma

Santwana Bhattacharya / Sunday Standard
Nitish Kumar’s grand alliance is scheduled to assert Bihar’s ‘self-respect’ in a rally on August 30.
But can the alliance grandly showcase itself? Congress president Sonia Gandhi—and not her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi—has been invited to share the stage with Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav. But will she agree to make Rahul’s role secondary to hers? more

Rahul, Lalu wary of Nitish win

Pankaj Vohra / Sunday Guardian
A victory for Nitish would make him a natural choice throughout the country as the opposition's main face against PM Modi, thereby putting an end to any hope Congress president Sonia Gandhi may have of anointing her son Rahul as the principal challenger in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In cold political terms, a Nitish win would be the end of Rahul's career or whatever remains of it. more

Hindu Hridaya Samrat repackaged as a Teli Samrat

Rajesh Ramachandran / ET
The BJP has been trying to hardsell Modi as a leader of the OBCs. Amit Shah's claim of Modi being the first OBC prime minister, conveniently forgetting Deve Gowda, was aimed at targeting the non-Yadav OBCs of Bihar. The BJP's Bihar unit recently held an exclusive meeting of the Teli caste, a backward caste group of oil pressers, claiming that Modi is a Teli. more

Surat sends 5L Modi sarees in Bihar poll blitz

Melvyn Reggie Thomas / ToI
A saree from Surat would always bring a smile and make the toil worthwhile. BJP MP from Navsari, CR Patil, a die-hard Modi loyalist who is co-incharge of the party's Bihar poll campaign, is hoping this clicks in the assembly elections due shortly. Almost five lakh sarees, nearly packed in customized bags bearing a beaming Modi image on top, have already been dispatched for poll-bound Bihar.

Patil has roped in around 25 Bihari textile traders from the city to dispatch sarees packed in the Modi bags to retailers and wholesalers in Bihar. "It is the love and affection of our textile traders towards Modiji that they are doing our branding in Bihar election by using our bags. They are not distributing sarees free of cost," insists Patil. more

Hurdles for the herder

Although Lalu Prasad Yadav is still their tallest leader and a majority of Yadavs, like all others in Bihar, are still relying on caste equations, the field has opened up. For people from the Yadav communities, especially the younger generation, there is suddenly more to elections than Lalu Yadav and his RJD. So if the BJP fields a Yadav candidate, chances are brighter that Yadav votes will go to that corner if pitted against a non-Yadav candidate from the Lalu-Nitish-Congress alliance. For Lalu, it's now or never, because there will be little steam left in his brand of politics once the Yadavs switch sides for good. more

Paswan ideal Bihar CM face: Shatrughan Sinha

Pratigyan Das / ET
Won't Lalu and Nitish bring jungle raj to Bihar?
I feel these terminologies - jungle raj, kamandal raj - are jumlas created during election time.Everything depends on how much voters believe these specially coined words. We should give voters a roadmap, rather than harp on such things.

What are BJP's chances in Bihar?
Bihar's an acid test - very challenging. I hope BJP turns this challenge into an opportunity. But we must put our house in order - it would've been better, had there been a CM candidate. I'd suggested Ram Vilas Paswan. more

It's anybody's game in Bihar

Notwithstanding the cheers which Prime Minister Narendra Modi received while announcing the Rs.1.25 lakh crore special package for Bihar at an election rally, he will be making a mistake if he believes that the bonanza will ensure the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) runaway victory in the state assembly elections in October/November.

All that it can do is to bring about a marginal improvement in the BJP's position, for the Indian voter is far too canny to be easily swayed by promises. Moreover, the more extravagant they are, the more suspicious he will be. Besides, the voter is aware that the bounty is for Bihar, and not for any particular ruling party. more

After Kejriwal, JD(U) may now rope in Mamata

Kumar Vikram / Mail Today
After inviting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has moved a step further. Sources said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee might also visit the poll-bound state very soon.
A JD (U) source said that the Bihar CM wants to send across a message of how the state chief ministers have been on target of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. more

Surge in ‘communal incidents’ after BJP-JD(U) parted ways

Appu Esthose Suresh / IE
Since January 2010, for the last three and a half years that the BJP and Janata Dal (United) were together in power, there were 226 “communal incidents” across Bihar — incidents where Hindus and Muslims, the two largest religious groups in the state, were pitted against each other. Each incident was recorded by the local police station and classified as “communal”.

But since June 2013, when the two parties split and up to just a month ago, in the run-up to the Assembly elections, that number has surged to 667. more

Politics of special packages for states

The Union government is not a saintly organization. It is subject to the same incentives as any other government. The announcement of the package for Bihar—in the middle of electioneering for the state assembly—is blatantly political. This is the second time in recent memory when a major financial or administrative step has been taken for political gain. The conceding of a separate state of Telangana less than a year before the 2014 general election was one example; the package for Bihar takes this process one step further. more

Bihar polls will determine the fate of national politics

Prashant Jha / HT
The dates for the Bihar assembly elections haven’t been announced yet, but the political slugfest has already begun. Political pundits are gazing into their crystal balls, but there is no clear answer. Many are turning to Bihar’s vibrant political past to get a grip on the future of the state that has witnessed, and even pioneered, key political trends.
 
It is clearly a do-or-die election for all the players fighting for the 243-member assembly. more

Hoodwinking of Bihar continues

Mohan Guruswamy / First Post
The Prime Minister has announced an Rs 1.25 lakh crores package for Bihar. Just as he announced an Rs.100 lakh crores package for J&K on July 12. The first question one must ask is why just as much for J&K, the state with India’s lowest incidence of poverty than over India's poorest and most backward state? Bihar has a population of over 103 million and J&K has a population of 12.5 million. Bihar is eight times as big as J&K and many times poorer. The per capita income of J&K is approximately Rs.58,000 while it is half that at Rs. 29,000 for Bihar. Where is the justice in this? Is the moral of this is that Bihar too needs to become insurgency ridden before the Central Government takes notice of it.

Quite clearly the hoodwinking of Bihar continues. If the central government were more even handed it would, even if it cannot give assistance at J&K levels, give it as per the national average. In which case we should be looking at a figure nearer Rs. 500,000 crores. more

Nitish takes leaf out of BJP, AAP poll playbook

Gyan Varma / Mint
Facing probably his toughest electoral challenge, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is drawing on the highly successful campaigns conducted by Narendra Modi in the 16th general election and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi assembly elections. While the former is a foe, the latter is emerging as Kumar’s new political ally.

To start with, Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), is working on a vision document for Bihar 2025, similar to the one prepared by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha election. It will be based on inputs from voters in all the 243 assembly constituencies of Bihar. more

‘Womaniya’ Hold the Key in Bihar

Amit Rajsingh / Wire
When a few women from nearby villages met Nitish Kumar recently over the issue of widespread alcoholism in rural areas, he was quick to respond, “These women are right.  If I return to power, I will have it (alcohol) stopped.”
Many thought of it as a poll gimmick or a not so serious quip by the seasoned politician, but those who have followed the Chanakya of Bihar politics know that he was targeting a very valuable vote bank i.e. the women voters of the state. In similar fashion, Nitish announced that almost 3.5 lakh contractual teachers will get on to a pay scale, which amounts to a pay hike from August 1. Point to be noted: half of the teachers are women.

The message is clear. In Bihar where political fortunes rest on caste, having the support of women voters can change the game for Nitish. Nitish doesn’t want this time-tested vote bank to slip away from his hands.
In a caste entrenched society of Bihar, women voters are ‘caste neutral’. Generally, it is perceived that women vote in a similar fashion as their male family members. But such an assumption is clearly unfair to their mature political understanding. more

Patna and 20 Bihar districts get backward status

The Centre on Wednesday notified 21 Bihar districts including capital Patna as backward areas and unveiled tax rebate for them in the poll-bound state, a day after the Narendra Modi government announced a mega Rs 1.25 lakh crore development package.

Any manufacturing unit set up between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2020 in these districts will be eligible for 15% additional depreciation and 15% investment allowance under the Income Tax Act, on the cost of plant and machinery acquired and installed by it during this period.

The 21 districts include Patna, Nalanda, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Kaimur, Gaya, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Nawada, Vaishali, Sheohar, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Purnea, Katihar, Araria, Jamui, Lakhisarai, Supaul and Muzaffarpur. more

Narendra Modi's Enemy #1 in Bihar is Lalu

Dhirendra K Jha / Scroll
The RJD is the BJP’s enemy number one in the majority of the seats that the saffron party considers safe. Out of 91 seats the BJP won in the 2010 Assembly elections, 29 are constituencies that the party has retained in all the last three state polls. In addition, there are 13 other seats that the BJP has won in last two elections. Although the BJP is likely to field candidates in 150-160 seats out of the total 243 in the state polls, it looks at these 42 (29+13) seats as relatively safer than other seats it may contest.

The results of the last three elections – held in February 2005, October 2005 and 2010 – show that the RJD has considerable presence in the majority of even these 42 seats. In many of them, the saffron party’s victory margins have not been very high. more

Ranveer Sena killed 144 Dalits in Bihar: Cobrapost

The Cobrapost on Tuesday claimed that its journalist K Ashish got the confessions of Ranveer Sena members Chandkeshwar alias Chandreshwar, Pramod Singh, Bhola Singh, Arvind Kumar Singh, Siddhnath Singh and Ravindra Chaudhry by claiming that he was making a movie on the Sena, a disbanded armed group of upper castes in Bihar.

It also said that this was a reason for abrupt dismissal of Justice Amir Das Commission of Inquiry that the state government had set up on December 27, 1997 in the wake of Laxmanpur Bathe massacre as soon as the JDU–BJP alliance came to power in Bihar. In an interview with Cobrapost, Justice Das (retd) categorically states that he was asked to shut shop because his report could have implicated some prominent politicos for their support to the private army, the webportal claimed.

Cobrapost also claimed that Ranveer Sena had political patronage of the BJP, a reason for disbanding of Das commission. The investigations also showed that Sena had a diabolical plan of carrying out 50 massacres in as many villages. of upper castes in Bihar. more

Bihar package unlikely to give BJP any edge in polls

Gyan Varma / Mint
Political analysts feel that the special package will not boost the chances of the BJP in the state because the party is contesting the development work done by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, one of the most popular leaders in the state.

“I doubt if this announcement will help BJP win elections. This strategy is very similar to what Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tried to do before the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. We have seen in the past that the announcements made by Congress party didn’t translate into vote during the general elections,” said Bidyut Chakrabarty, political analyst and political science professor at Delhi University.

Experts argue that there is no historical evidence to suggest that the announcement of a special package has improved the prospects of a political party. “This announcement will not improve the chances of BJP. Nothing matters to people more than a leader with demonstrated capabilities. There is no historical evidence to show special packages and electoral victory are related,” said Jai Mrug, a Mumbai-based political analyst. more

Bihar Package: Many are top-ups

P Vaidyanathan Iyer / IE
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Rs 1,25,003-crore Bihar package is spread over the next few years and includes new elements such as the power plant in Buxar and a skills university but it also includes amounts earmarked under a variety of schemes across sectors that are part of the Union Budget for 2015-16. 

A senior government official in Delhi told The Indian Express, “The new projects will take time for implementation. So the amount will be spent over a period of time. Many elements are also covered in the Union Budget estimate for the current financial year.” 

For instance, Rs 68,533 crore or roughly 55 per cent of the package is directed towards rural roads and highways. The Union Budget has allocated Rs 91,181 crore for highways and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, a portion of which is also meant for Bihar. “Individual ministries will have details of state-wise outlays,” said an official, who did not wish to be named. more

Kejriwal will campaign against BJP in Bihar

AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will campaign against the BJP in the run-up to the Bihar assembly polls.

JD(U) secretary general and Rajya Sabha member K C Tyagi told The Indian Express that Kejriwal will share a public platform with Nitish Kumar. “He has also promised to depute his party workers to supplement our poll drive,” he said.

Kejriwal and 11 AAP leaders with roots in Bihar have organised the Bihar Samman Samaroh in New Delhi Wednesday to felicitate Nitish and pledge their support to him for the elections. The two leaders will also work out a schedule for joint public meetings. more

‘Repackaging’ of old projects: Nitish

Vithika Salomi / ToI
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday termed the "special" central assistance worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore as a bundle of "repackaged old projects" meant to mislead the people of poll-bound Bihar. The package announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent on the budgetary provision or time frame for completion of the projects, he pointed out.

Nitish challenged the PM to declare the monetary allocations for similar projects in other states so that one gets to know what exactly is special about the package for Bihar. "Will routine work not be done in Bihar? Will the central government do everything in form of packages?" Nitish questioned and enumerated several old projects such as IIM at Bodh Gaya, power plant at Banka and construction of gas pipelines which have been included in the package. more

What PM Modi's Bihar package actually includes

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs. 1.25 lakh crore development package for Bihar. He said an additional Rs. 40,000 crore was also being invested in the state through various projects under implementation.

The biggest chunk of the funds has been approved for highway and road building projects. A total of Rs 54,713 crores have been allotted for highways which includes 2,775 kilometres of highways and construction of bridges across the Kosi, Sone and Ganga rivers. The next big chunk of funds has been allotted in the petroleum and gas sectors. Expansion of the Barauni Refinery and a petrol-diesel pipeline from Raxaul to Nepal are some of the projects planned. more

Watch 'Manjhi' to know DNA of Bihar: Kejriwal

 In an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his DNA remark on Nitish Kumar, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said everyone should watch 'Manjhi' film to know the type of DNA Bihar is made of.

"Now that Bihar polls are approaching everyone should watch the (Manjhi) film to know what the DNA of Bihar is made of," Kejriwal said after watching the film in a special arrangement. more

Progress with Nitish, still lagging behind

Prachi Salve & Saumya Tewari / IndiaSpend
While Chief Minister Kumar is credited with turning around the economy of Bihar, the state is still at the bottom rungs of India’s poverty ladder, unemployment and public and personal infrastructure—from highways to toilets at home. more

Youth centric strategy of RSS for Bihar polls

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is readying itself to take the plunge in the upcoming crucial electoral battle in Bihar. The organisation that is the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP is chalking out a youth-centric strategy. The Sangh has already started operating through its one lakh-strong army of tech-savvy swayamsevaks and supporters using social media platforms, claimed functionaries. more

Bihar Faces Drought-Like Situation

Alok Pandey / NDTV
Of Bihar's 38 districts, 30 have received deficit rainfall, by up to 32 per cent. This is a worrying situation for a state that is largely dependent on rain for its irrigation needs. Bihar has received 433 mm against the normal of 653 mm. A drought-like situation exists in 223 out of the state's 533 blocks, according to the government. more

NCP to decide on staying in secular alliance: Nitish

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said seats had already been distributed among allies and there was no need to revise it.

"We have left three seats for the NCP and instead of us they would have to decide whether they want to be in the grand secular alliance or not," Kumar said.

Kumar's statement followed the Sharad Pawar party issuing an ultimatum to grand secular alliance in Bihar to reconsider seat distribution by August 20, saying it will not settle for less than 12 seats in the Assembly elections or else all options are open for it.  more

Mr Modi, don’t let Bihar distract you

SA Aiyar / ET

Dear Narendra Modi,

The coming Bihar state election has made you lose your once-clear sense of direction and conviction. You seem terrified of doing anything that may antagonize vote banks, or draw charges of corruption or pro-business sympathies. You seem indecisive and defensive, not tough and decisive as in your successful 2014 campaign. 

Cynics already call your regime "UPA-3 minus big corruption". In February , AAP thrashed you in the Delhi election. So, your partymen view the Bihar election as a make-or-break event that will ruin your moral authority and charisma if you lose. Fear of losing Bihar is converting you into a flip-flopper. 

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The NDA 's vote share in Maharashtra fell from 50.2% in the general election to 47.1% in the state election; from 34.7% to 33.2% in Haryana; from 21.5% to 18% in Odisha; from 40.1% to 35.0% in Jharkhand; from 34.4% to 23.0% in Kashmir; and from 46.4% to 32.2% in Delhi (2015). 

In Bihar, you won just 38.8% of votes in the general election. That was a multi-cornered contest. You can hope for more votes in the coming straight fight, but can you be confident of 51%? Hardly. 

So, hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Don't obsess about Bihar. Instead, focus on purposive governance to establish you as a strong leader worthy of re-election in 2019. more

Money won’t do, need policies: Nitish

Santosh Singh / IE
Unleashing development figures in a bid to counter questions raised by PM Narendra Modi during his two rallies in the state ahead of Assembly polls, the Bihar CM said: “People talk of giving money to Bihar. Giving some help here and there will not do. Bihar does not need support of money but of policies. It can progress on its own strength and contribute to the growth of the country”. He said special status alone could bring real development to the state. more

BJP needs to reach out to Mahadalits

Ravish Tiwari / ET
Bharatiya Janata Party supporters widely expect Jitan Ram Manjhi to drive the sizeable mahadalit electorate, led by the musahar community, away from the JD (U) alliance to the BJPled NDA in the upcoming assembly elections. Sirsa Pahadi, a hamlet of over 100 households belonging to musahars, just off Gaya-Nawada roadside testifies to prevailing challenges before the BJP to this assumption.

The residents are not quite sure about the political affiliation of Manjhi, former chief minister of Bihar and Nitish Kumar's trusted aide turned foe. This suggests that the BJP may have to walk the extra mile into the musahar neighbourhoods to harness the prized support base that many believed the party had bagged when it tied up with Manjhi's Hindustan Awam Morcha. more

Bihar village gears up to own RO water plant

Khaira, a small village of Bihar, is all set to launch a community owned Reverse Osmosis (RO) Water Purification Plant for providing clean water to the villagers. Khaira is located in Kharagpur Block of Munger, one of the two districts in Bihar that are enlisted as both arsenic and fluoride contaminated.

In its attempt to get rid of fluoride and arsenic-rich water, Khaira Panchayat is all set to launch the water purification plant which would be collectively owned by the village. The ground water of Khaira village and its adjoining areas do not contain arsenic but has fluoride above tolerance limit. more

Teachers in Bihar don't belive in anti-incumbency

Ashok Mishra / ET
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to concede the demand of nearly four lakh contractual schoolteachers across Bihar to be accorded regular pay scale may have won him some new backers ahead of the assembly elections. 
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A teacher, who stands to benefit from the decision, said Kumar can now look forward to support from all beneficiaries as well as their beneficiaries. "Now we will back him to the hilt. The teachers play a very crucial role on the day of polling," he said, requesting not to be named. more

Kejriwal to facilitate Nitish

In an indication of growing closeness between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, the AAP government will facilitate the latter at a function likely to be held on August 19 in the national capital. According to a senior Delhi government official, the Department of Art, Culture and Languages, headed by minister Kapil Mishra, will organise a programme in which Kumar is expected to participate.

"The government has sent an invite to the Bihar Chief Minister urging him to participate in the function as its chief guest on August 19. At the function, Kejriwal will facilitate Kumar," the official said. more

Nitish stands to lose in the seat-sharing arrangement

a close scrutiny of the seat-sharing arrangement shows that JD(U) has inflicted a loss on self. In the 2010 Assembly elections, it contested 141 seats and won 115, RJD contested 168 and won just 22, while the Congress fought on all the 243 seats and won only four. Going by this, both the RJD and Congress stand to gain at the cost of JD(U) in the new scheme of seat-sharing. more

RSS books to woo Dalits ahead of Bihar elections

After the launch of the two collectors’ editions on Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar by RSS mouthpieces Organiser and Panchjanya in April this year, the RSS chief launched four books in Hindi on Ambedkar on Thursday. The move comes just months ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls which are expected to become another rallying point with the Dalit votebank. 

Responding to accusations of newly-found love for Dalits, Mohan Bhagwat said, “Why are some sections having problems if the followers of Dr KB Hedgewar and Dr BR Ambedkar come together on the same platform to solve the evils of India when we have the same vision of Indian society.” more

Can Maha-gathbandhan sway the masses in Bihar?

The Bihar assembly elections is the first time that major non-BJP parties are coming together in an alliance to stall the saffron party’s juggernaut. That leaders like Nitish and Lalu have shed their mutual antagonism, and any remnants of anti-Congressism, to fight on a common platform signifies the emphatic manner in which the centre of gravity in Indian politics has shifted in favour of the BJP.
For PM Modi, winning Bihar in 2015, and UP in 2017, is key to asserting his political domination over the country and wresting the Rajya Sabha from the Opposition. But Modi also realises that recapturing the electoral mood of 2014 has become difficult. While the electoral arithmetic of consolidating individual vote shares is impeccable and makes a case for the JD(U)-RJD-Congress combine, this does not factor in the task of convincing sceptical voters and dissenting cadres of respective parties. more

Bihar polls from mid-October

Chetan Chauhan / HT
The Bihar assembly polls could be a month-long exercise spread over four to seven phases from mid-October, sources in the Election Commission said.
The poll dates would be announced by mid-September as the Election Commission has started working on the schedule after its team visited the state last week, the sources said. The entire process is likely to conclude by November 20, nine days before a new assembly is notified.
The Election Commission has ruled out the possibility of holding election in September-October because late monsoon rains could impede the exercise. more

Elections are about perceptions

SANJAY KUMAR/PRANAV GUPTA/MEENAKSHI VERMA / The Hindu
Performance of government matters in Indian elections, but what matters more is perception. The chances of a government getting re-elected are more due to the perception the government creates about development rather than by actual developmental work done during its tenure. True, misgovernance proved costly for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, but what proved even more disastrous for the Congress was its inability to create a perception that it cared for the needs of the common man.
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Realising the importance of perception in winning elections, the two alliances in Bihar have already started waging the perception battle as they go into the electoral campaign mode. Nitish Kumar is trying hard to send out the message that Bihar has developed enormously during the ten years of his rule. He emphasises that the period has been one of susaashan (good governance). Of the achievements the government wants people to notice is a significant improvement in the law and order situation. more

Making Bihar and UP less Bimaru

There are two approaches that have been mooted in recent times to sort out the developmental mess in these states. The approach advocated most vigorously by leaders in these states is that of demanding special packages. UP has demanded Rs.80,000 crore in the past. Bihar under Nitish Kumar has made similar demands more recently. The other option is to fix governance in these states and attract private investment, a process that will ultimately deliver growth and yield revenue to these governments for greater social sector spending.

Ultimately, the demand for special packages comes close to applying a concentrated dose of investment in these states. However, shorn of fixing governance in these states, that is unlikely to work. That is akin to a chicken and egg situation: if money is thrown to these states, it is most likely to be frittered away—as has been happening for many decades now—but unless investments are made in human capital, in education and healthcare for example, the ability of these states to fruitfully absorb investments will be weak. more

JDU, RJD to contest on 100 seats each, Congress on 40

The seat-sharing talks among the RJD, JDU and Congress for the Assembly elections appeared to be a test of nerves and finally came out with an amicable conclusion.

D-U and RJD will contest on 100 seats each while the Congress will fight on 40 seats in the 243-member Assembly, announced Nitish Kumar.

The JDU has, at present, 111 MLAs in its kitty and the party had contested 141 seats in the 2010 Assembly polls. The RJD has 24 MLAs and the Congress has five, at present. more

Why Bihar is taking DNA samples to spite Modi

Soutik Biswas / BBC
On Tuesday, Mr Kumar's government launched DNA collection camps in 250 places in the state capital, Patna, to pick up hair and nail samples of people who flocked there. On Thursday, camps will move to the state's 38 districts.The queues at some of the camps were a kilometre long. Scissors and nail cutters were at the ready.
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Social scientist Shiv Visvanathan believes Mr Kumar is using DNA as a "metaphor to mean identity".
"It is about the essence of identity, and not really genetics." But, he cautions, invoking the primordial DNA to foster regional pride is really a move to "stir the pot, which is not a very good thing", he said . more 

No jungle raj by Lalu-Nitish

TK Arun / ET
Will not Nitish Kumar’s alliance with Lalu Yadav, whose 15-year sway over Bihar has widely been condemned as Jungle Raj, derail governance and growth? It will not. For the simple reason that the people will not accept such a return to past behaviour on the part of any political party.

Bihar has evolved, as has all of India. Lalu represents not just jungle raj but also empowerment of the state’s subaltern groups. Freeing the state’s majority from the enervating bondage of caste oppression was a necessary condition for Bihar’s economic development. It is to Lalu’s credit that he achieved this. That he did not take the next step of providing functional law and order and fostering economic growth was his undoing. more

Why Modi is looking like a loser in Bihar

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay / DailyO

Make no mistakes people of Bihar are extremely sensitive about non-Biharis passing loose comments about their heritage and culture. He may not have meant it, but by mentioning the fact that there was something wrong in Nitish Kumar’s DNA, he touched a raw nerve. Similarly, though the late demographic, Ashish Bose, may have coined the path-breaking acronym BIMARU; but two decades later, when development and upliftment of people is claimed by all parties and is a major electoral issue, to attach that label in election season is a huge mistake. more

Modi ends up giving its opponents ammunition

Dhirendra K Jha / Scroll.in
Every time Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, he unwittingly ends up giving its opponents more political ammunition.
At his first poll rally at Muzaffarpur on July 25, he faulted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's DNA, giving his rivals an opportunity to create a narrative of Bihar DNA-versus-Gujarat DNA. At his second rally on Sunday, Modi unintentionally gave his adverseries a stick to beat BJP president Amit Shah with when he declared that people learn bad things in jail. more

Nitish launches Shabd Wapsi campaign against Modi

Escalating his confrontation with Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday announced the launch of "Shabd Wapsi" campaign, demanding that the Prime Minister take back his 'DNA' remark and signalling the issue will be a key plank in the assembly polls.
Taking their antagonism a step further, Kumar said 50 lakh people will participate in a signature campaign and also send their DNA samples to the Prime Minister for tests. more

Must Bihar Pay For Nitish Not Dining With Modi?

Mani Shankar Aiyar, Congress MP, Rajya Sabha
Narendra Modi's opening salvo in the forthcoming Bihar elections, which will determine whether his government is merely in difficulty or in free-fall, has been to make a nasty remark about his rival, Nitish Kumar's DNA. This follows Nitin Gadkari's "quip" that "casteism is in Bihar's DNA". Little wonder Nitish is incensed. He has retorted that his DNA is the same as every true Bihari's DNA and that this is the DNA of the cradle of India's civilization, home and workplace of both Gautama Buddha and Asoka, home to India's long history from Nalanda to Champaran. What Nitish did not add is that DNA, in India, stands for Dharma, Niti, Acharan (Righteousness, Right Policy and Right Behaviour) - and that what Modi and his cohort have demonstrated is that Modi and they lack altogether any such DNA...

...In Nitish Kumar's powerful oratory, Modi is going to discover his match. The BJP's 'jumlas' worked once. They are not going to work again. While Nitish will probably not be able to match Kejriwal's thrashing of Modi's men at the polls, there is little doubt that Modi's fading sheen will suffer further loss of shine come the Bihar elections, probably in October-November. It is an election that could sound the knell for the four years that remain for Modi. more

Will Shatrughan Sinha be AAP’s face in Bihar?

Tarique Anwar / Firstpost
Many leaders of BJP’s Bihar unit are unhappy with the party’s leadership and Sinha is said to be in touch with them. If he formally joins the AAP, he may come with other dissenters as well and it will adversely affect the saffron party’s prospect in the state. The source said Sinha’s popularity as a film actor may or may not help the party secure a few seats in the 243-seat house but all the votes his favour will come at the cost of the BJP. Sinha may use AAP’s novelty value to secure an assembly seat for his wife Poonam Sinha. more

Nitish writes to PM Modi: Take DNA remarks back

Respected Modiji,
Few days back, while addressing a public rally in Bihar, a comment was made by you about my DNA. The issue has been troubling many of us since then. Now, as you are scheduled to visit the state again, I am writing to you on behalf of those who have felt hurt by your statement. Your words have been taken as an insult by a large section of the people of the state and beyond. Most of us also feel that coming from you, the comment is rather unbecoming of the office you hold. more

Identity politics is losing importance for Bihar’s youth

N K Singh / BJP member and former bureaucrat
Identity politics can be an overriding factor in stratified societies experiencing limited mobility, stymied aspirations and economic stagnation. The debate on identity politics remains unsettled. It would be naïve to believe that it has ceased to influence, though it does not necessarily determine electoral outcomes. The ensuing electoral battle in Bihar will inevitably see a creative mix of both development and identity politics. more

Breakthrough in Bihar seat-sharing talks

Dhirendra K Jha / Scroll.in
As per the formula, which is likely to undergo some last-minute changes, the JD(U) and the RJD will contest 105 seats each, said a senior JD(U) leader considered close to Nitish Kumar. The Congress will get 30 seats and the Nationalist Congress Party the remaining three seats.
Congress leaders confirmed that the party high command has received an offer of 30 seats from its two Bihar allies. Following this development, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of select party leaders from Bihar on August 10 to take a final view of the offer. more

This Election Is Critical For The State And Beyond

Nitish Kumar / Chief Minister of Bihar

As Bihar gears up for the upcoming assembly election, there is an often asked question on why this election is so important. In a couple of months' time, around one tenth of India's population, whose development is essential if India has to develop as a nation, goes for election. In the last ten years, the state has witnessed unprecedented growth and prosperity. After decades, the conversation about Bihar has acquired a positive tone and tenor. A stable foundation has been laid on which a brighter and prosperous future of Bihar awaits to be built. I believe that not only are people conscious about the importance of these elections in ensuring the unabated development in the state, but there is a resolve to make sure this journey continues. Beyond the issues and priorities of Bihar, in my view, these elections will also influence the political discourse and direction of politics in the country.

First, let's talk about Bihar's perspective. Driven by the mantra of 'Development with Justice', the state has focused on ensuring governance, rule of law and effective delivery of basic services. Bihar has outperformed the country on most socio-economic indicators. At 17.99%, decadal GSDP (gross state domestic product) growth rate (at current prices) has been at an all time high. Per capita income has grown at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 16.33%, more than twice the national average. Agricultural GSDP growth has increased by 5.1%, industrial production by 13.3% and tertiary sector by 9.8%. The electricity situation has seen massive improvement. There has been a four-fold increase in power supply (from 700 MW to 3012MW). Per capita power consumption has trebled (70 units to 203 units). About 36,504 (including partially electrified) villages have been electrified. Road network in Bihar has doubled over the past decade; more than 66,500 kilometres of roads and thousands of constructed bridges have connected the length and breadth of Bihar. Going forward, while we have challenges, the results give us the confidence to work harder and accomplish better results for the people of Bihar.

Statistics and data, though important, cannot be the only criteria of a job well done. When I see empowered young girls and future of Bihar riding on bicycles, clad in school uniforms, adding wings to their dreams, I consider it as a job well done. When thousand more people visit state-run hospitals in their hours of pain and misery and come out satisfied with a feeling of being helped, I consider it a job well done. When I see people roaming the streets of Bihar, without a shred of fear for safety and the confidence that in their state, the rule of law prevails, I consider it a job well done. A job well done is when people of Bihar take pride in being called a Bihari. more

Final list for Bihar has 6,68,26,658 voters

A total of 6,68,26,658 voters would be eligible to exercise their franchise in the coming election to Bihar Assembly, according to the final voters list published by Election Commission. There are a total of 2169 third gender voters who would cast vote in the coming Assembly poll. more

‘Manjhi - The Mountain Man’ Is Tax-free in bihar

The Bihar government on Thursday announced that it was waiving entertainment tax on the Ketan Mehta-directed movie “Manjhi - The Mountain Man”, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, which is releasing in theatres across the Bihar on August 21. more