Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has for much of his 15-year tenure been credited with transforming the ‘Bimaru’ state through his development projects.
New roads, better power connectivity, a host schemes for women and Prohibition have all been touted as his marquee efforts, earning him the sobriquet Sushasan Babu (man of good governance).
Now, as he faces perhaps his biggest electoral challenge, at stake is not just his chair but his very reputation as an able administrator.
ThePrint, throughout its travels in Bihar so far, has encountered visible anti-incumbency directed at the chief minister — with Nitish’s moniker of Sushasan Babu giving way to terms such as ‘Paltu Ram (turncoat)’, ‘Paltu Kumar’, ‘Dal Badlu’, all a reference to the CM constantly shifting political allegiances.
And a large section of voters are unhappy with the chief minister.
Women, often seen as Nitish’s staunchest supporters, are angry that he didn’t follow up on his Prohibition move, which he enforced in 2016, with stringent checks to prevent boot-legging and local manufacture of spurious liquor.
Even those who say they will vote for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) due to the TINA (there is no alternative) factor, are critical of the chief minister.
Take the case of Priya Ranjan Kumar, 36, a resident of Masaurhi assembly constituency in Patna district.
“Nitish Kumar worked well in the initial 7-8 years and no wonder he was called Sushasan Babu. But for the past few years, Bihar has remained the same while other parts of the country are getting developed,” Kumar said. “I support the BJP because the Narendra Modi government has done work at the Centre. I think BJP will form the government.”
Pintu Singh, 40, a resident of Fatuha town, said, “The BJP should have contested on its own, not with the JD(U). The only work that our area has seen is roads and power. But we need to earn a livelihood too. Unemployment has only been increasing. The ration we got during the lockdown is from Modiji. The only thing is that we don’t have any alternative.”
Also read: BJP claims LJP-RJD pact in Bihar as it fears talk of ‘deal’ with Chirag Paswan will hurt party
CM’s waning popularity
The waning popularity of CM Nitish Kumar is something that ThePrint also came across as it travelled to several constituencies to gauge the mood of the voter.
“We have not seen any work in the past five years. When one stays in power for so long, they become arrogant and the same is happening with Nitishji,” said Rajinder Shah, 60, a resident of Shahpur village in the Kanti assembly constituency.
“Chirag Paswan is a young leader and even the Independent candidate is promising in our constituency.”
In a number of constituencies, voters who supported the JD(U) in the last elections are also in two minds due to “bad ticket distribution” and unemployment.
ThePrint also came across many who pointed out that since there was no better alternative, they were likely to give Nitish yet another. “Vikalp hee toh nahi hai warna iss baar Nitish ji ko shock lagta. Modi ji toh hain par woh Centre mai hain, ye local election hai (The problem is that there is no alternative otherwise this time Nitish would have got a shock. Modi is there but he is at the centre, and these are local elections),” said Pappu Kumar, a resident of Kamta Chak village in Patna district.
The BJP, which is in alliance with Nitish’s JD(U) for these elections, is aware of the “Nitish fatigue” but is hopeful that the Modi rallies will address those concerns to an extent.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to begin his Bihar poll campaign from Friday, with three rallies at Sasaram, Gaya and Bhagalpur. In all, he is expected to address 12 rallies for NDA candidates.
“People are definitely angry with Nitish and that happens when someone has been in power for 15 years. But they know no big scam has taken place during his tenure,” a senior BJP leader told ThePrint.
“They are comparing Nitish with Nitish only. The Nitish of 2020 with the Nitish of 2010. Naturally there is anti-incumbency but we are quite confident that people will give the alliance another chance.”
The JD(U) too is confident that the chief minister had done enough work to sway voters. “In rural areas, domestic violence had become the norm as the men would come home drunk. The Prohibition policy has reduced that. Now, rather than the liquor bottle, the man comes home with vegetables,” said K.C. Tyagi, general secretary and JD(U) spokesperson. “The atrocities on women have reduced due to this,” he added.
“As far as criticism of Nitishji is concerned, he is the one who has transformed the face of Bihar. Road connectivity has improved, piped water supply will reach all homes by the end of 2020. We can’t compare Bihar with other states but we have to compare it with what Bihar was under Lalu Yadav.”
Also read: ‘Murder, extortion, rape’ — 30% candidates in Bihar first phase have criminal records
Didn’t follow up on Prohibition: Women
Women voters have been the centre of Nitish’s scheme of things since he first assumed power in 2005.
The chief minister has launched a number of schemes for the welfare of women and girls such as the Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana under which girls were given bicycles for their school commute.
In 2014, he had launched a scheme to distribute sanitary napkins to school girls. His welfare schemes such as Jeevika, a skills and livelihood-based self-help group (SHG) project, have also been largely appreciated by women.
Prohibition too was aimed at the women voters who had led protests in the state against it but is now definitely raising some concern.
“Nitishji dukaan band kiye hai, daaru nahi. Pehle dukaan pe jaa kar log khareedte the aur ab home delivery hota hai, woh bhi mehenga (Nitish has only shut liquor shops not liquor. Earlier people had to go out and buy liquor at shops, now it is delivered at their homes),” said Munni Sharma, 34, a resident of Shahpur village, some 100 km from Patna.
“So many families have been affected by this. So many men have died due to spurious liquor and many are in debt as the men are busy buying expensive liquor.”
She is seconded by Nirmala Devi, 55, a resident of Hajipur assembly constituency. “They have involved even children in making alcohol. It is being produced in every home now,” she said. “Nitishji did the right thing but he has failed as far as implementation is concerned.”
Tejashwi starting to leave a mark
The one leader gaining from all of this discontent is the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav, who has become a talking point, especially among the youth, over his promise to provide 10 lakh jobs.
“I really like PM Modi but these are not his elections. As far as Bihar is concerned, change is necessary and everyone should be given a chance,” said Amitosh Singh, 23, who has completed his graduation but is currently working at an eatery in Hajipur.
“At least Tejashwi is talking about what he intends to do, whether it is about creating 10 lakh jobs. Mauka sabko dena zaroori hai agar ye fail honge toh inhe bhi change karenge (It is important to give an opportunity to everyone. If he fails to deliver, we will change him too).”
His thoughts are echoed by Guddu Kumar, another 23-year-old who is preparing for his civil services and is part of the Kanti assembly constituency.
“Nitishji worked very well initially, say for 7-8 years. The kind of development Bihar witnessed then is definitely praiseworthy,” he told ThePrint. “But he has changed substantially now. He is no longer the same Nitish. Unemployment has been increasing and he has not done anything. Unhe ab kursi chahiye aur datein rehna hai. Ab badlaav ka samay hai (He wants the CM’s chair and is going to be steadfast about it. But now is the time for change).”
Undecided voters in some areas say they will vote for whoever has better winning prospects. “I will vote for the candidate who is headed for a win. Why vote for someone who is not going to win anyway?” said Ishwar Dayal, 68, a resident of Muzaffarpur.
There are a few, however, who still feel the kind of development that has been witnessed under Nitish is unparalleled.
“Right from roads, power and now piped water supply is being provided to us. Bihar has seen a lot of development and all this has happened under Nitish Kumar,” said Joginder Pandit, 55, a resident of Kurhani assembly constituency who runs a small eatery. “We are happy with the work though there are many things that have to be done.”
Guddu Kumar, 38, a resident of Muzaffarpur, said, “He has delivered and whatever one may do there will always be scope for more. One needs to see what all has happened in Bihar in 15 years. Things have changed. We did get ration during the lockdown and that helped us sustain ourselves. He deserves another tenure.”
Also read: Why Chandrashekhar Azad’s entry in Bihar polls should worry Mayawati