Arati R Jerath / ToI
Trust Bihar to defy gravity. When arch enemies Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad joined forces and roped in Congress as an also-ran to stop the Modi juggernaut from rolling into Patna, few expected their ramshackle Grand Alliance to hold. Political rivals and pundits alike predicted an early demise.
When that didn’t happen, they insisted that the combo wouldn’t work on the ground. Lalu’s Yadav votes will never transfer to the man who exiled the community to political wilderness for a decade, they said. Nor, they added, would Nitish’s EBC and mahadalit voters, who had drifted in significant numbers to BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, reconcile to the prospect of yesterday once more in jungle raj.
Surprisingly, a different narrative is unfolding in village after dusty village north and south of Patna. Bihar’s politically savvy voters have turned conventional wisdom on its head to put the Grand Alliance firmly in the race and nosing ahead, if the chatter in rural chowks is any indication. more
Trust Bihar to defy gravity. When arch enemies Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad joined forces and roped in Congress as an also-ran to stop the Modi juggernaut from rolling into Patna, few expected their ramshackle Grand Alliance to hold. Political rivals and pundits alike predicted an early demise.
When that didn’t happen, they insisted that the combo wouldn’t work on the ground. Lalu’s Yadav votes will never transfer to the man who exiled the community to political wilderness for a decade, they said. Nor, they added, would Nitish’s EBC and mahadalit voters, who had drifted in significant numbers to BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, reconcile to the prospect of yesterday once more in jungle raj.
Surprisingly, a different narrative is unfolding in village after dusty village north and south of Patna. Bihar’s politically savvy voters have turned conventional wisdom on its head to put the Grand Alliance firmly in the race and nosing ahead, if the chatter in rural chowks is any indication. more
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