Whether Bihar again welcomes Nitish Kumar’s “sushanan” (good rule or rule of law) or ushers in Tejashwi Yadav’s social-justice brand of government will only be known on 14 November. But the rumblings of the return of Bhumihar rule in the state were distinctly audible in Mokama on 3 November, when union minister and Lok Sabha member from Munger, Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, speaking from a public platform, described Anant Singh as a law-abiding citizen. He said, “Each one of you is now Anant. Make Mokama ‘Anantmay’ [full of or immersed in Anant]. His victory margin should be so huge that conspirators end up with blackened faces. Anant’s victory will strengthen the hands of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It will strengthen the rule of law. It was because Anant respected Nitish Kumar’s rule of law that today he is not among us. When he is not among us, it is the duty of each one of us to become him and fight the elections. When he was here, my responsibility was less. Now that he is not here, I have taken charge of elections in Mokama.”
Lallan did not stop here. He openly threatened the opposition voters. He said that those who do not want to vote for Janata Dal (United)-Bharatiya Janata Party should be locked up in their homes. “If they plead and cajole, take them along with you and make them cast their votes. Afterwards, ask them to go home and rest,” he said.
When Lallan Singh, with unmistakable haughtiness, was talking about turning Mokama “Anantmay” and locking up opposition voters, it felt as if an army of invaders was lunging forward to crush the enemy.
After the public meeting, Lallan Singh embarked on a road show from Mokama to Pandarak. His cavalcade had more than 70 cars. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary was riding with him in an open car. A vehicle with a screaming hooter led the cavalcade. There was aggression in the air. It was as if from Mokama, Lallan Singh was conveying to the entire Bihar that only those who plead and cajole will be allowed to vote. Under good governance, people will have to live with their heads bowed. No one will be allowed to keep their head up.
“Nitish ko taj, Bhumihar ka raj” (Nitish wears the crown, Bhumihars rule) – that is the way Nitish regime has been summed up by Biharis for some time. Lallan Singh has emerged as the tangible symbol of “Bhumihar ka raj”. Lallan Singh is known for his feudal arrogance and casteist conceit and has truncated the stature of Nitish Kumar.
It is yet not clear why Nitish absented himself from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s road show in Patna on November 2. But by standing beside Modi at the show, Lallan Singh made it amply clear that he cares two hoots for Nitish. He not only displayed his proximity to Modi but also toed Amit Shah’s line on the chief ministerial candidate, asserting that the legislators will choose their leader after the elections. Lallan Singh, obliquely, made it clear that Nitish Kumar won’t helm the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Nitish Kumar is getting increasingly isolated in his own party. Not only Lallan Singh, but also Sanjay Jha, the national working president of the JDU, doesn’t want Nitish to be the chief minister post-poll. Not a single non-Savarna got the opportunity to break bread with Amit Shah at Mithila Haat during the latter’s visit to Madhubani.
That the Savarnas hold the reins of the government as well as the ruling party is apparent. Ajay Mandal, the MP from Bhagalpur, is said to be campaigning in favour of Mahagathbandhan candidates. The son of Banka MP Girdhari Yadav is contesting as an RJD candidate. It is said that Girdhari Yadav is aiding the poll effort of not only his son but also of other Mahagathbandhan candidates. Dinesh Chandra Yadav, the JDU MP from Madhepura, is also said to be irked by the domination of the Savarnas and this may impact the results on many seats in the Kosi area.
Given his physical and mental state, Nitish Kumar is unable to take any action, even if he wants to. When the NDA’s election manifesto was being released, Nitish Kumar left the venue within seconds, without saying a word.
Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot commented that the way Nitish Kumar left in a huff when the NDA’s manifesto was being unveiled amounted to almost boycotting the event. According to Gehlot, Nitish must have found reading out the manifesto pointless when he is unlikely to be appointed chief minister.
The secret alliance of Lallan Singh and Sanjay Jha with the BJP and the sidelining of Nitish indicates that a faction of the JDU, which wants to see Nitish as the next chief minister, is being pushed to the margins. Modi and Shah are consistently trying to reduce the stature of Nitish Kumar.
In his first election rally at Samastipur on 24 October, Modi spoke for 45 minutes. He repeatedly referred to forming an NDA government after the polls but did not even once say that Nitish government would be back. In contrast, during the 2020 elections, the NDA had harped on about forming a government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. Addressing his first election rally at Sasaram on 23 October 2020 and then at Motihari on 1 November 2020, Modi had underlined the need for forming the next government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.
Why are Modi, Shah and other BJP leaders not talking about bringing Nitish back as the chief minister? Do they have other plans, which they don’t want to reveal now?
In the run-up to these elections, Modi and Shah have never categorically stated that Nitish Kumar would be the next chief minister. Their reference to Nitish has been limited to contesting the elections under his leadership. As a result, the workers and supporters of JDU are utterly confused.
The BJP is known for creating and sustaining confusion and uncertainty. The BJP fought the 2024 Maharashtra elections under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, but anointed Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister. Prior to that, the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh were fought under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan but it was Mohan Yadav who became chief minister. In 2021, the party fought elections in Assam under the leadership of Sarbananda Sonowal, but Himanta Biswa Sarma was appointed chief minister.
Bihar is the only state in the Hindi belt that is yet to see a BJP chief minister. This time, the party seems to be working on a strategy to ensure that one of its leaders helms the government. Modi wants to win the credit for doing what earlier BJP leaders could never do – “Modi hai to mumkin hai” (If there is Modi, it is possible).
The BJP is strengthening its position in Bihar. Savarna leaders like Lallan Singh and Sanjay Jha are being promoted to push Nitish into the shadows. With the objective of restoring Savarna rule in Bihar, changes have also been made to the police set-up. Director General of Police Vinay Kumar is a Bhumihar, who replaced Alok Raj. Alok Raj could serve as the state’s top cop for just three months. Similarly, Patna SSP Awakash Kumar was shunted out within a couple of months, only to be replaced by a Bhumihar, Kartikeya S. Sharma. The new appointees are now making their presence felt. The police brass seemed to be backing Anant Singh, the accused in the murder of Dularchand Yadav in broad daylight in Mokama. Instead of talking about the accused Anant Singh, SSP Sharma described Dularchand Yadav as an old criminal. But for the Election Commission intervening to save its reputation, no action would have been taken against anyone in the murder case.
The murder of Dularchand Yadav is not just another crime. It is the sound of the footsteps of Bhumihars seeking a return to power by crushing Dalits, OBCs and minorities. The murder is a move to crush the determination of these communities not to surrender, not to sit at home but to campaign and cast their votes. That’s the reason Lallan Singh is saying that the opponents should be confined to their homes and not be allowed to vote.
It doesn’t require much intelligence to guess who the opponents are.
Translated from the original Hindi by Amrish Herdenia
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