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Once again the electoral chessboard has been laid in the politics of Bihar and this time the contest seems to be no less interesting than any general election. The by-elections and elections to be held on 8 seats of teacher and graduate constituencies of Bihar Legislative Council (MLC) have taken the political temperature of the state to the seventh sky. On one hand, this election is proving to be a big litmus test for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to save its credibility, on the other hand, there is a race between the main opposition parties Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress to prove their supremacy within the Grand Alliance. But amidst all this, a new and third angle which has shaken the entire traditional political equation of Bihar is election strategist turned politician Prashant Kishore (PK) and his ‘Jan Suraj’ party. Due to Jan Suraj’s aggressive entry, ground hold and raising issues directly related to the educated and teaching class, this time’s MLC elections have come to a triangular and very complicated turn. Let us know in detail today in this special report, what are the challenges before NDA in this battle of Bihar MLC elections, what kind of tussle is going on in the Grand Alliance and why Prashant Kishor is seeing big hopes in this contest.
For the NDA alliance ruling Bihar, this MLC election is not just a means of winning seats, but it is the biggest test of their administrative hold and mutual coordination among the constituent parties. As soon as the elections were announced, the manner in which rebellious voices started coming out from within the ruling party has given sleepless nights to the top NDA strategists. Old political rivalries between local leaders of Janata Dal United (JDU) and its allies, especially on Patna graduates and teachers seats, have come to the fore. Some powerful and influential former MLAs and powerful leaders of JDU are seen openly raising the flag of Jan Suraj or independent candidates in protest against the official candidate of their party. Apart from this, there have been reports of rebellion against the authorized candidates on some seats within Upendra Kushwaha’s party (Rashtriya Lok Morcha). Despite the continuous meetings and warnings being called by the NDA leadership, the dissatisfaction of the workers at the local level and the scattering of votes does not seem to be stopping, due to which it is becoming a very difficult task for the NDA to save its old forts.
On the other hand, the position of the Grand Alliance (RJD and Congress), which is the main opposition faction in Bihar, also does not look very comfortable. Although RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and senior Congress leaders have been claiming their unity in the state, when it comes to the selection of candidates for MLC seats and bringing together the cadre at the grassroots level, the tussle is clearly visible. RJD, on its part, is constantly trying to prove that it is the only face of non-BJP politics in Bihar, while the Congress party is adamant on more seats and a respectable share to regain its support base. Due to this internal competition, the joint campaign of the Grand Alliance on many seats has not been able to take off with the aggressiveness that its supporters were expecting. This threat of division of opposition votes can cause big damage to the Grand Alliance in the elections.
Amidst the internal strife of the NDA and the confusion of the grand alliance, a big political opportunity has arisen for Prashant Kishor’s party ‘Jan Suraj’. Prashant Kishore has focused this election on his agenda with great cleverness and foresight. He has made the sensitive issues related to equal pay for equal work, implementation of 7th pay scale, old pension scheme and respect for teachers the main weapons of his campaign. The strong and educated candidates fielded by Jan Suraj in other constituencies, including Patna teacher and graduate seats, have made the contest directly triangular. Prashant Kishor has openly claimed that in this election the public will vote in the name of change and development rather than on traditional caste basis or old big faces. If Jan Suraj manages to win even one or two seats in this election or snatch a major share of the vote percentage, then it will change the blueprint of the entire politics of Bihar for the upcoming main assembly elections.