Updated: November 17, 2020 10:49:32 am
The fact that the RJD won a higher share of votes (over 23%) this time compared to 2010 (19%) when RJD had contested more seats also shows its growing popular support.
In terms of power politics, retaining the government in Bihar is an achievement the BJP has been talking about since the results came in. But the change in their ranks with the inauguration of the new government on Monday underscored how the party is preparing for what it sees as the challenges of its 2020 term.
The choice of two, not one, senior vice ministers, Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, reflects how the BJP is tackling the rotation from the start. Indeed, the expulsion of former MP CM Sushil Modi from state politics underscored this signal.
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The party may be putting on a brave face citing its 74-seat victory, but sources point out that this is not its best performance in alliance with JD (U). He had won 91 seats in the Assembly (of the 102 he challenged) in 2010 in partnership with JD (U). That he has become the primary partner in the alliance has little more than token value.
Party leaders, however, add that comparing 2010 with 2020 is unfair. By 2020 it was overwhelmed by Covid-19 and its impact on the state’s migrant workers. The fact that the Opposition fell short despite a three-term anti-incumbency hit with adversity from Covid only shows the breadth of support for the NDA, BJP leaders said.
Deep down, however, the party is aware of the challenges posed by the closed verdict.
In fact, the fact that the RJD-led alliance garnered a nearly similar vote share is a red flag. Top BJP leaders admit that this indicates how the RJD alliance has achieved a “broader support group” than the NDA envisioned. This also shows that Hindu non-Yadav voters have indicated that the BJP-JD (U) cannot take them for granted.
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“This is something the party needs to watch out for,” said a senior BJP leader who is part of the state core group meetings. “After such performance by RJD, it would be wrong to assume that poor Hindu voters and not Yadav will not ally with RJD in the future,” said the leader.
The fact that the RJD got a higher share of the vote (over 23%) this time compared to 2010 (19%) when RJD had contested more seats also shows its growing popular support.
Since Nitish Kumar was downgraded in this election, the BJP decided to intervene early to appeal to what is seen as Nitish’s contribution to the alliance: women and EBC electoral support. With this in mind, the party singled out CBOs and Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) when it named Prasad (OBC Kalwar community) and Devi (EBC Nonia community) as its leaders.
Diverting Sushil Modi also aims to ensure that he does not outshine these two leaders as he has done in the past with, for example, the party leader in the Assembly, Prem Kumar, a multi-term MLA from Gaya and the Chandravanshi Community. EBC.
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“In the BJP state, Sushil Modi has been a towering banyan tree that puts everyone else in the shade,” said a senior leader. Which implies that its downsizing opens up opportunities for future state leadership to grow and prepare Bihar’s unit for post-Nitish electoral politics.
The other significant challenge the BJP sees is the resurgence of the communist parties and how they helped the RJD-led alliance corner the NDA in the Bhojpur and Magadh regions that border Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. “Lalu and his politics had marginalized the communists in Bihar, but their son has given them a new lease of life. This is a challenge that the state will have to negotiate, ”said a senior BJP official.
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