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Whenever the bugle of Legislative Council (MLC) elections rings in the politics of Bihar and other states of the country, the politics of manipulation in both the ruling party and the opposition camps reaches its peak. The atmosphere of this time’s MLC elections has completely raised the temperature in the political circles, because here a more dangerous game is being played within the parties than the tough competition that is taking place between the opponents outside. On one hand, while the three major allies in the opposition Mahagathbandhan are laying the political chessboard to defeat each other, on the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which appears to be in a strong position, is facing a strong threat of cross voting from within itself. This unique and interesting political drama has made the election results extremely exciting. Let us know what is the real story behind the ongoing turmoil in this MLC election battle and who is trying to overpower whom.
Even though claims of coordination and unity among the parties involved in the Grand Alliance are made through big speeches in public forums, the ground reality seems to be exactly the opposite. As soon as the excitement for MLC elections has started, a tug of war has started between the three main partners of the alliance regarding whose candidate will contest on which seat and who will support whom. The situation has become such that despite having a nominal alliance, internally each party is making moves to weaken the chances of victory of the other partner in order to save its political existence and strengthen its side. The dissatisfaction and mutual distrust arising among local leaders regarding ticket distribution has increased to such an extent that instead of defeating the opposition parties, more emphasis is being given to ensure that the candidate of the fellow party does not become too strong. Political analysts believe that other candidates in the election field can directly benefit from this mutual infighting and tussle, which is raising a big question mark on the election strategy of the Grand Alliance.
On the other hand, if we talk about Bharatiya Janata Party and its NDA alliance, even though on paper their organization appears to be the strongest and disciplined, but the internal picture is not that clear. The nature of MLC elections is such that the circle of voters is not the general public but the elected representatives of local bodies i.e. Panchayat representatives, ward members, mukhiyas and Zilla Parishad members. In this special type of Electoral College, personal and local equations work far beyond caste and party boundaries. This is the reason why many such rebellious and dissatisfied faces have become active within the BJP, who are planning a strategy to attack the party’s official candidate openly or secretly. The anger of the leaders who were deprived of ticket distribution and the fight for supremacy among the leaders at the local level is giving sleepless nights to the party strategists, because in the MLC elections, every vote counts and a small mistake can turn the whole game upside down.
The biggest deciding factor in this time’s Legislative Council elections are proving to be the public representatives of the local bodies who are going to vote. These small public representatives elected from rural and urban areas have their own local demands, problems and political ambitions. Candidates of both the big political camps i.e. Grand Alliance and BJP are openly using every policy like Sama, Daam, Dand, Bheed to win these voters in their favor. The era of secret meetings and reconciliation taking place in the dark of night is in full swing, due to which it has become very difficult to predict which public representative will press the button in favor of which party at the last moment. This uncertainty is giving sleepless nights to the candidates and everyone wants to avoid taking any risk till the last moment to ensure their victory.
The results of these high-profile MLC elections in Bihar or other states are not limited to just the coming and going of a few seats of the Legislative Council, but are considered to be a litmus test of the strength of political parties and their organizational control before the upcoming big assembly or general elections. If the grand alliance parties lose the election due to infighting, blame will be placed on each other and if the BJP fails to stop the infighting within its own house, then the party leadership’s claims of discipline may be dented. However, amid all these moves in the political arena and the heartbeats of the candidates, the eyes of the public and analysts are completely focused on whether when the ballot boxes open, the moves of their own people are successful or the strategy of the organization wins.