Signals from Bihar and by-polls: India is moving away from caste politics

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his efforts at focusing on development, or ‘Vikas’ in Gujarat. His repeat terms proved the efficacy of this approach. His delivery on the development front also inspired many other politicians. Among BJP, Dr. Raman Singh and Shivraj Chauhan were the first to adopt the mantra and ruled their respective states for multiple terms. Among the opposition, Nitish Kumar was one of the earlier ones, identified later as Sushasan babu. Naveen Pattanaik also tried to follow this example. Both of them proved to be among the longest-lasting Chief Ministers of their states. The only person to fail despite ‘Vikas’ was Chandrababu. The reason was, perhaps, his projection as an urban-centric development man, not reaching out to the poor. He failed to break this image. Of course, this mantra meant you actually deliver. Not many politicians acknowledged this change in politics and went on harping on caste equations. This was a formula that has been sucked dry now.

Modi took the same bold approach to national politics. All the calculations of caste, religion, and regional sentiments fell on the wayside and he emerged victoriously. His first term as PM was underlined by his strong measures to see that development reached the last rung of the society and lift the overall level of economic wellbeing. It was Integral Humanism philosophy on the ground. This approach saw his return in the second term in a more resounding manner.

However, the traditional politicians with their respective caste basis still refused to learn. They kept projecting him as communal and divisive. They did not look beyond their opaque colored glasses. Venerated psephologists kept on repeating the outdated cliché of caste and community. The opinion leaders and editors also went along. They closed their eyes to recognize this emerging reality. Despite the visible signs, no psephologist worth his/her salt could complete the analysis without throwing in caste combinations, caste-religion jargon, because that made them sound knowledgeable. But, Bihar, the ultimate crucible of caste politics could be seen as the final call to the conventional politicians and thinkers to move out of this caste – creed paradigm. I underlined this fact both during exit polls and also during counting but it has not been yet appreciated enough.

In Bihar, for the first time, both major political alignments focused on basic economic issues, youth aspirations, and development. Yes, there is always an undercurrent of castes, that is due to a sense of identity and old community feeling. I can assure you it will work at a subtle level for some more time to come.

There is also no doubt that Muslim votes moved out of the so-called secular block of parties to a purely Muslim party. It proves a different point that for Muslims ummah comes first. But that is a different debate. It also proves that the secular-communal debate created by the so-called secular brigade to keep Muslims in its fold, without doing anything for them is bogus. There is no substitute for good governance and economic welfare, every other issue is peripheral now. This is the central message. Tejaswi Yadav, for all his personal shortcomings on one side and his inheritance on the other, played very well. He distanced himself from his father to shed the jungle raj image but used his father’s political assets on the field. He stressed unemployment and misery arising out of the Corona pandemic. There was no doubt, this election was going to be a referendum on how Modi ji responded to the Wuhan virus that is Covid-19. NDA of course played mainly on its development work for the last 15 years. It also tried to show its good work during Covid-19. It was the caring image for the poor of Modi that carried the day for NDA that won the Bihar elections by the skin of its teeth.

Nation-wide by-polls

Most importantly, the simultaneous by-elections were a real acid test of Modi Ji’s work during Covid-19 and the care he took of the common men. His care for the poor with various schemes reflected clearly in the by-elections. It overshadowed the huge human cost of Covid-19 resulting in a painful trek back home. The win has been really huge. Right from South of the Vindhyas to the eastern end of the Himalayas, it has been a sweep across the nation. It has surprised nearly all the political pundits. Clearly, it was a tragedy of the highest order when lakhs of poor migrant labor walked on feet for hundreds of kilometers or paid exorbitantly to reach their villages. State governments mostly seemed to be heartless. But the way central government schemes worked to apply balm on their pained souls was extraordinary. Imagine, if there were no Jan Dhan accounts, there was no linkage to Aadhar card and Direct Benefit Transfer, what the condition would be. This linkage was not forgotten by the poor and has been highly appreciated. You talk to migrants still in urban centers, they talk about financial aid for toilets, homes, cooking gas, cash transfers, free food grain back home. The critics have not yet come to terms with these realities.

The opposition needs to reinvent itself

Clearly, the opposition has yet to get the message. They are still in the 1970s mode of caste and faith politics. Today only AIMIM can prosper on a religious basis because of the inherent nature of Islam. Such politics can only be defeated by educated, modern Muslims. Other political parties will need to illustrate that development and economic well-being is more important than religious politics. It will be an uphill task but worth trying. Time for communal politicians thriving as so-called seculars is up. Anti-Modi rhetoric and painting BJP as communal doesn’t work at all. I don’t know, when will Congress and its allies understand it. Intellectual friends of Left-Secular forces need to realize that it is not BJP that is destroying them, it is their own short-sighted venomous politics that is doing this. Tejasvi is the prime example of this new approach and see, how he has succeeded. A democratic polity needs an effective opposition, but a constructive opposition. And the responsibility for this obviously lies with the opposition, not BJP.

Will opposition reinvent itself, or will it cry helplessly as it drowns itself holding Rahul Gandhi’s frayed kurta ends?