18 May 2009, 0320 hrs IST, Abhay Singh, TNN
PATNA: Normally, an average Bihar voter has always conjured up an image of one living on the edge in an underdeveloped periphery trapped in
poverty, wrought by annual flood and drought-like conditions. He might not be carrying a bandolier and a gun, but he might also not be averse to voting for a don, both for fun or due to his fear. For him, caste and clannish considerations were considered to be more overwhelming than any other choice. Pre-poll or post-poll violence, apart from the violence indulged in on the polling day, had been a normal phenomenon for the last many decades.
Courtesy the outcome of the just concluded parliamentary elections, this image of the Bihar voter has changed. The poll violence was to the minimal during the poll staggered to four phases. Voters broke the caste barrier. They exercised franchise to endorse the development agenda, coupled with improved law and order, rather as a pre-requisite for the fulfilment of developmental aspirations that CM Nitish Kumar, leading the Bihar NDA government, went drumming about from any pulpit, or any platform or fora available to him. NDA has bagged 32 of the 40 seats -- 80 per cent.
Not surprisingly, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, described Nitish as a "paryaya (synonym) of development," and also qualified it saying that voters queued up at the polling booths to cast their votes in favour of his development agenda. State NDA convener Nand Kishore Yadav called it the beginning of "positive politics" in the state.
Indeed, Nitish has got encore from no less a political leader than CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya. Talking to TOI, he said, "Vote was for development. General voter went to the booth hoping for the fulfilment of general aspirations that there should be positive change. They wanted the opportunity given to Nitish to continue. His government has been in power only for 41 months." His party's state secretary, Nand Kishore Prasad, felt that the vote was for Nitish, not the NDA combine, and the hunger for development would increase, since Nitish appeared to be "doing something."
State BJP general secretary Rajendra Gupta (MLC) has no "if" and "but" attached, and insisted that the image of Bihar voters has definitely changed for four reasons. One, criminals in contest, directly or indirectly, lost the election, because people wanted it. Two, voters upheld measures taken to improve law and order, since they wanted "shanti (peace)" and "vikas (development)." Three, they broke the caste barrier and worsted the parties of both Lalu Prasad (RJD) and Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP). Four, they wanted to give space to Nitish to pursue his development agenda.
"I would say that if the NDA had won 20 or less than 20 seats, then it would have been better to say that Bihar voter's image has not changed," Gupta said, adding: "All the four factors worked in tandem."
Yet, as Bhattacharya said, the low polling of around 48 per cent on average was a cause for concern. "It only means that Nitish has not yet given much in concrete to enthuse them," he said, adding: "Their reality continues to look for better future, since the conditions of living of the average voter have not changed. The positive part is that people defeated criminals fielded by even Nitish Kumar's JD(U). Yet, polling has been fair. There was no phenomenon of booth grabbing."
No comments:
Post a Comment