New Delhi: After months of campaigning and days of polling, the results of the Bihar assembly elections will finally be declared today.
Therefore, quite unsurprisingly, most prime time debates Monday night were preoccupied with the possible outcome in Bihar.
But some others chose to direct their focus elsewhere. Mirror Now discussed US President-elect Joe Biden’s win and what it would mean for India while Times Now spoke to Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar about the air pollution crisis that most North Indian states are plagued with.
Meanwhile, Republic TV and Republic Bharat continued to demand justice for its arrested Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami who did not receive bail, yesterday.
First up, Bihar. NewsX tried to figure out what the final verdict by the people of Bihar would be. “The wounds from the migrant crisis are fresh, the collapse of healthcare and law, lack of employment were things that people remembered,” said Sulaiman Khan, Congress national spokesperson.
“The people of Bihar have given a very clear message that they are voting out the government of Nitish and BJP for their lawlessness, unemployment and lack of healthcare,” Khan added.
Disagreeing with him, BJP’s Iqbal Singh Lalpura went back complaining about the “jungle raj” of Lalu Prasad Yadav.
“People don’t want Lalu’s rule to come back. People have now seen good governance with us. We’ve delivered development, justice and governance and people don’t forget what has been done for them,” he argued.
“It’s just a matter of time (before) you will see that we will form the government tomorrow,” he added.
On ABP News, anchor Rubika Liyaquat started her prime time show ‘Hoonkar’ with a monologue — “Everyone’s eyes are fixed on the results of Bihar’s assembly polls. A few hours wait and that’s it, ABP will bring you the fastest result.”
“Even after getting crushed in exit polls, NDA has not lost hope,” the anchor added, hopefully.
RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan expressed sadness at Lalu Prasad Yadav’s absence. Yadav is under arrest and has been lodged in a Ranchi jail since 2018 after being convicted in a fodder scam case.
“We were expecting his presence but that didn’t happen. It won’t be right to celebrate with grandeur, bursting crackers in his presence which is why we have asked the RJD workers that only after Laluji arrives… we will celebrate fully,” Gagan told the anchor. Meanwhile, videos of RJD chief and Lalu’s son, Tejashwi Yadav’s birthday party kept playing in the backdrop.
“Is it because of Laluji’s absence that you don’t want to burst crackers tomorrow or because you don’t want the image of jungle raj to resurface on the very first day?” asked Liyaquat.
“The raj that is going out tomorrow is rakshas raj,” Gagan declared.
On Times Now, anchor Navika Kumar interviewed Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar as most of North India struggles to breathe due to the thick and toxic smog that has enveloped the region.
“Awareness has already been generated, when it comes to crackers, over the last few years. The government will continue to work closely with the people on all issues,” Javadekar said.
“This issue cannot be solved overnight. Stubble burning is an issue but so is waste management. We take action on the advice of the scientists,” he added.
On how the issue is concentrated in states in northern India, he said, “This issue of pollution is serious. We must understand that while North India is facing these pollution problems, cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru are not. There are several reasons for that.”
He added that the factors responsible for pollution are not entirely in the government’s hands. “These are natural factors like meteorology and wind.”
Tanvi Shukla on Mirror Now discussed the possible ramifications of Joe Biden’s presidency on US-India relations.
“There will be a short-term easing in the H1-B visa but the type of reform that’s needed to bring the program to a point where it reflects more economic activity between India and the US, may still be a long way,” Mark Davies, a US-based immigration lawyer, said.
On US’ relations with other countries that may impact China, former army officer and strategic affairs expert Maroof Raza argued, “There’s going to be a degree of rivalry with China and this goes beyond Sino-Indian rivalry. One area to watch carefully is Joe Biden’s reopening of engagement with Iran.”
In the same vein, ORF’s Harsh V. Pant noted, “It is also a question of where India matters in the American foreign calculus. How we and American diplomats navigate these challenges amid a domestic political transition and crisis in the US is the challenge for both.”
