"Bihar mein bahar ho, Nitishe Kumar ho". This slogan coined by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's campaign team will now resonate across the state for some time to come following the massive win of the Janata Dal-Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress Mahagathbandhan over the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Assembly elections. It was an election where vitriol was in full display, abuses flowed freely, issues that matter were sidelined while everything from DNA to cow was used to woo the voters.
It was a bruising battle between two leaders who were banking on their development oriented and progressive image. In one corner side was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, still basking in the glory of the massive verdict in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and in the other was Nitish Kumar who was badly mauled and trying to position as someone who can still work for the betterment of Bihar.
Down and virtually out just one and a half years back, Nitish Kumar, the man who has been the chief minister of Bihar four times, is back with a bank riding on his development image and the Muslim-Yadav vote bank of his friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Lalu Prasad.
Till now the word most in currency during an election used to be anti-incumbency, but in the Bihar Assembly elections it was all about pro-incumbency for Nitish. The man who has been Bihar CM since November 2005 except for a nine-month period from end of May 2014 to February 2015, along with Lalu Prasad trounced the NDA in the fiercely contested five-phase elections in the state.
Pitted against a coalition which is at power at the Centre and led by a powerful orator in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitish and Lalu with Congress formed not only a formidable alliance but the Bihar CM's massive goodwill among all sections of voters including those not inclined to go with him saw the Mahagathbandhan through easily. One of the most striking aspect of Nitish’s win is not just the mobilisation of backwards led by Yadavs but the support from an overwhelming number of women cutting across the caste barrier.
While Nitish was the mascot, the heavy artillery in the battle came from the stable of RJD supremo Lalu. Convicted and sentenced to jail in a fodder scam case, Lalu was ineligible to contest elections. But faced with the prospect of a complete wipeout as the massive BJP election machinery kicked into top gear hoping to once again ride on the Modi wave was just like the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he joined hands with Nitish, though reluctantly. Once the Mahagathbandhan became a reality, Lalu slugged day and night to turn the elections into a forward versus backward battle with some help from Rashtriya Swaymasewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement on reconsideration of reservation for OBCs.
But as the election dates neared, the Nitish-Lalu alliance turned a new leaf. It was not only more composed, cohesive and better organized than the NDA which saw leaders squabbling and alliance partners taking pot shots at each other during the entire campaign but also had clearly defined roles for Nitish and Lalu.
They knew that a divided opposition would gift Bihar to NDA. They came together, planned a campaign in which Nitish talked about his development work, women empowerment and seven promises known as Nitish Nischay while Lalu took on the NDA in a hand to hand combat in the caste quagmire of Bihar.
Just after the mauling in the Lok Sabha elections, Nitish had resigned as Bihar CM and handed over the reins to Jitan Ram Manjhi. But nine months later Manjhi was seen as a burden and Nitish had to put in a great deal of effort to force him out of power and make a comeback. He was virtually seen as someone who was already put of reckoning but along with Lalu’s help and a highly professional campaign by the Indian Political Action Committee saw him bounce back.
It started as an election which was to be fought on the development plank by both the rivals soon descended into a vitriolic, acerbic, abuse-laden fight. Perhaps with the exception of Nitish, no leader came out clean from the cesspool as the Election Commission was forced to reprimand several of them for using the vilest of the language every spoken about during an election campaign.
In the end the man who is credited with bringing Bihar back on track has got one more chance to prove that he can bring "Bahar in Bihar" and shown his rivals that the state is in his DNA.
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