For the past month, The Indian Express travelled extensively across the length and breadth of Bihar to gauge voter sentiment, talk to them about the election issues — jobs, “palayan (migration)”, caste, social welfare schemes, etc, and discuss the poll campaign with the political leaders in the middle of it all.
As Bihar prepares for the counting of votes on Friday, here are 10 must-read ground reports and interviews:
On a packed train from Delhi to Bihar, Deeptiman Tiwary spoke to migrant workers returning home for Chhath Puja about their concerns about migration, jobs, identity as a Bihari living outside Bihar, and electoral expectations.
In Patna, voices for change but Nitish seen as its agent — more than his challengers
In the capital city of Patna, Vandita Mishra found that young voters recognise the visible infrastructure gains under Nitish Kumar, but still crave meaningful jobs and a curb on migration. The CM, more than his challengers, Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishor, was seen as the agent of change.
In an interview to Santosh Singh, the Mahagathbandhan’s CM face and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said job creation would not be a cost for a government headed by him but an investment because employment links to health, education and overall development. He emphasised that the Opposition’s schemes were better-designed and sustainable compared to those of the ruling coalition.
Bihar polls take over Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, shrink space for youth training for job exams
Patna’s iconic Gandhi Maidan has been the site of many a public meeting, including the famous one in 1974 by Jayprakash Narayan, whose movement eventually toppled the Indira Gandhi government. There, Parveen K Dogra found that young men and women training for the physical component of government exams were facing problems as the open ground had been overtaken by poll machinery.
Lalu village will ‘vote for RJD, good or bad’; just outside, caste takes over
At former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad’s village Phulwaria in Gopalganj district, Deeptiman Tiwary found voters cutting across caste groups connecting their identity to the RJD patriarch and arguing that Tejashwi should be given an opportunity. However, just outside the village, voting decisions shift back to caste-lines and candidate performance.
‘Bajrangbali hain kya, ki ekaek udenge?’: Voters hear PK, but want to see more of him first
Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj generated a lot of interest among voters during this election campaign, with his pitch centred on bread-and-butter issues rather than appeals to caste loyalties. Though his message of change appeared to resonate among voters, Vandita Mishra found them to be cautious about backing someone new. In Kishor’s village of Konar in Rohtas district, Santosh Singh reported about voters crediting him with “setting the poll narrative”, but many were divided about the impact that Jan Suraaj might have.
Forty-six years later, returning to a Musahar village in Bihar, to find change but desire for more
Neerja Chowdhury returned to the Musahar-dominated village of Piparghatti in Gaya district after 46 years to find that while infrastructure had improved since she was last there, women still seldom attended school and unemployment remained pervasive. However, the community now votes decisively for schemes and leaders promising jobs and security rather than only identity politics.
A ‘different’ BJP in Bihar: Why the party’s Hindutva pitch is subdued in the state
Talking to voters in Arariah, Barh, Jamui, and Patna, Vikas Pathak wrote about how in Bihar, the BJP’s traditional, sharp Hindutva pitch is nearly absent. Instead, because of the dominance of Nitish Kumar and caste mobilisations also occurring around the development question, the NDA’s focus here is on “bijli, sadak, paani”.
‘He is Bihar’s guardian… can do no wrong’: 20 years later, why Nitish still NDA’s best bet
The BJP, initially resistant to the idea of projecting Nitish Kumar as the NDA’s CM candidate, came around after seeing the overwhelming popularity of the CM despite his health problems and political U-turns, reported Liz Mathew. Many, including in the BJP and the Opposition, believe that the JD(U) will not be as far behind as it was in 2020, with 43 seats to the BJP’s 74. She also spoke to voters who positively view the 20 years of stability under Nitish rule.
Few takers for ‘vote chori’ pitch on route of Rahul Gandhi’s Bihar yatra
Just months before the elections, Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav toured the state, campaigning against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and “vote chori (theft)”. However, talking to people in some of the areas that the yatra travelled, Deeptiman Tiwary found that the campaign had not resonated on the ground.