Farmers Movement Archive

Polls set to be a litmus test for Grand Alliance

PATNA: After facing a humiliating defeat in the 2019 parliamentary polls, the upcoming Bihar assembly election is a litmus test for the opposition bloc, Grand Alliance( GA) comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD), Congress and smaller parties. The coalition won only one of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2019.Since then, the alliance has suffered the loss of one ally -- former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) -- and many senior leaders within the RJD have questioned the choice of Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate. Rashtriya Lok Samata Party( RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha is peeved over a delay in seat-sharing arrangement and has called the 32-year old Yadav a “ poor opponent” to chief minister Nitish Kumar’ . But Yadav is unfazed. “ We have always respected allies but if some body questions leadership of other parties, it is not right. Our alliance is with Congress, left and people of Bihar,” said Yadav. “Tejahswi is already declared as CM face of RJD and he is face of the GA. There is no issue of leadership in GA,” said RJD state president Jagdanand Singh. In 2015, the GA banked heavily on the caste arithmetic and was successful in building a coalition of backward castes, Dalits and Muslims -- winning 178 of the 243 seats. RJD won 80 seats and Congress 27 This time, without JD(U), HAM-S, and possibly RLSP, the coalition may not be as successful. “ For the RJD and GA, it is a do and die battle. If they do not make a visible presence in the polls, they will be wiped out in next five years,” said, Shaibal Gupta, founder member secretary, ADRI ( Asian Development Reserch Institute), Patna.The absence of RJD chief Lalu Prasad -- who is in jail on corruption charges -- is another crisis for the RJD as experts say it will be difficult to project a charismatic face to unite backward castes, Dalits and Muslims. “ It is true, Laluji is not physically present on the election ground. But he is present psychologically and in hearts of people especially poor and oppressed sections,” said RJD Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson of the party, Manoj Jha.A favourable verdict for the GA may also boost the Congress and other Opposition forces in the national political arena. “Bihar assembly polls importance is crucial nationally as the verdict would have its connotations in national politics.If the GA wins, the verdict would help the Congress and other like minded parties to intensify its opposition against the farm bills, decline in economic growth and have its impact in coming polls in various states. If the NDA wins in Bihar, the BJP will get portray the verdict as validation of the farm bills and other initiatives taken by it in recent months,” said, D M Diwakar, former director, A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna.

Hindustan Times

25-09-2020

India