On the eve of the Bihar elections, the Urdu dailies stepped up their coverage of the keen battle shaping up between the ruling NDA and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in different regions of the state, with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj pitching itself against them across the fray as the “X factor”. From roadshows to rallies, manifestos to press conferences, the dailies kept their focus on the entire spectrum of this grand face-off.
Noting that the campaign for the Bihar Assembly polls has reached a crescendo, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its November 2 leader, points out that both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan have deployed their top brass for canvassing for their candidates. It says both camps have also unveiled their manifestos, pledging a slew of sops and welfare schemes.
The Mahagathbandhan’s CM face and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has promised to give one government job to every family in the state. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spearheading an aggressive campaign again the Opposition by invoking “jungle raj” of the Lalu Prasad era, the daily says the BJP/NDA have made this issue their central plank for extracting electoral mileage. “The Lalu dispensation had ruled Bihar for 15 years. But Nitish Kumar has been at the helm of the Bihar government for about 20 years. The NDA should give an account to people of its performance over these two decades, which should be a reasonably long period to change the face of any state,” it says. “Instead, the NDA leaders have been harping on their jungle raj refrain to scare voters and hide their government’s failures on various fronts.”
The editorial states that beyond the NDA’s bid to divert voters’ attention from their own track record, the point remains that Bihar has continued to be the poorest and most backward state in the country. “Despite the NDA leadership’s claims, Bihar has remained at the bottom on multiple parameters, ranging from unemployment and migration to education, healthcare and infrastructure. It has not granted Bihar a special category status. The state has often seen leaks in various exams,” it says, adding that the prevailing state of affairs and the Nitish government’s “failings” also reflect a jungle raj. “Bihar is a state where several revolutions have originated. Today, its youths are drifting amid a crisis of unemployment. Bihar needs a wise mandate that could put it effectively on the track of development towards a bright future.”
QAUMI TANZEEM
Referring to the Election Commission (EC)’s bid to roll out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories — including poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal — the Patna edition of Qaumi Tanzeem, in its editorial on November 3, says the EC has gone ahead with this pan-India move even as the Supreme Court has made repeated interventions in the Bihar SIR’s case, which has been pending before the court. It says the issue of “vote chori” was first raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with the elections in Maharashtra, where the row has now heated up with seven Opposition parties, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Raj Thackeray-led MNS, forming a united front against the EC and hitting the streets to protest against various “anomalies” in voter lists.
The daily points out that in Tamil Nadu the CM and DMK chief, M K Stalin, has also sharpened his attack on the EC and the BJP over the exercise, accusing them of allegedly plotting to disenfranchise a large section of voters, especially women, Dalits and minorities. Stalin, who held a meeting of 44 parties on the SIR, called it a “hasty and opaque exercise”, citing the instance of Bihar, the editorial notes, adding that West Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has also been up in arms against it. “The Opposition’s campaign against the SIR is likely to intensify after the Bihar polls. It would also lead to consolidation of the Opposition forces as seen in Maharashtra, where the Thackeray brothers have come together,” the edit says. “The BJP has not been able to expand its footprint in the South so far. It may face bigger challenges in the region in the wake of the SIR firestorm.”
MUNSIF
Highlighting the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government’s declaration about Kerala becoming the “first state in India to eradicate extreme poverty”, the Hyderabad-based Munsif, in its October 31 editorial, says this is a historic development, especially in light of the fact that the country has still not been able to overcome poverty 78 years after Independence. “However, such a claim must be proved to be true. The Kerala government should invite international agencies like the UN Development Programme or World Bank to ascertain its veracity,” it says, adding that the Opposition UDF has questioned it. “Significantly, the Vijayan government has pulled off this feat despite its running confrontation with the BJP-led Centre.”
Story continues below this ad
The editorial says it is distressing that India has not managed to eliminate extreme poverty or poverty even as it is looking to emerge as the third largest economy in the world. “This puts a question mark over the policies of successive governments. The Modi government claims to have lifted tens of millions of people from extreme poverty, but this claim has been questioned over data and parameters,” it states. “Every party has sought to play politics over poverty. Indira Gandhi had given a slogan ‘Gharibi Hatao’, but could not turn it into reality. Even today, 80 crore people depend on free ration in our country.”
The daily points out that a minimum income level has been set to determine poverty or poverty line, with people subsisting on below that meagre income not able to address their basic needs like food, clothes, health or shelter. According to the Niti Aayog’s 2023 report, 14.96% people are “multidimensionally poor” in India on parameters like health, education and living standards, it notes.
Referring to the LDF government’s targeted four-year push to eradicate poverty, the edit says the programme was one of the first decisions taken by the Vijayan Cabinet after it was formed for the second consecutive term in May 2021. The government designed plans to empower 59,000 families facing deprivations on income, health, housing, food and education, it says. “Other states should also resolve to follow Kerala’s example in addressing poverty or extreme deprivations.”