Bahubalis and Social Rebels

Nowadays the people of Bihar are being warned that a victory for the Mahagathbandhan will mean a return of the dreaded Jungle Raj of the 1990s

- Prasanna K. Choudhary

THE social composition of the Bihar Legislative Assembly underwent a decisive change in the 1990s. In 1990, for the first time, the number of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) MLAs (117) surpassed the number of upper caste MLAs (105). This trend further strengthened in 1995, when the number of OBC MLAs jumped to 161, and the number of upper caste MLAs slipped to just 56. This decisive shift got reflected in the subsequent Lok Sabha elections as well—in 1991, the number of OBC candidates elected was 24, while the number of upper caste candidates elected reduced to just 10. In 1996, the numbers were 23 and 13 respectively. Remember, the voting percentages in these elections were the highest since Independence—in 1990, it was 62.04 per cent, in 1995, 61.79 per cent and in 2000, 62.57 per cent. Hence throughout the 1990s, the ruling party enjoyed a fairly good popular support. (Between 1951 and 1985, the voting percentage moved between 39.5 per cent and 52.79 per cent. After 2000, the voting percentage dropped again and moved between 45.85 per cent and 57 per cent.)