Theatre of Promises

Bihar's electorate watches the great auction of hope

- Mohammad Ali IS AN AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST, BASED IN DELHI, HE IS SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR WITH OUTLOOK

As dusk falls over Tajpur in Samastipur district, the marketplace close to the highway glows under a mix of fairy lights and flickering bulbs.

The air smells of fried litti (baked dough balls) and election dust. During the first phase of the election here, people voted in large numbers. But the discussion about who should come to power lingers on, albeit with a bit of scepticism about the past.

“Nitishji (incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar) gave ten thousand (rupees) to women,” said Ranjit Kumar, a 37-year-old peon in a government-run school in Tajpur, stirring his tea slowly. “In response, Tejashwi said, he’ll give thirty thousand (rupees). The BJP also talked about new youth schemes. People got dizzy keeping count. Nobody knew what was (really) new and what (was) just another announcement.”

He smiled wryly. “Every day, a new promise landed on our heads. We just wanted to know which one would actually change something on the ground. According to me, the time has come for a change in the regime.”

Many voters were left confused by the many promises made throughout the campaign, right up to the final day on November 4. Across Bihar, from the bazaars of Sheikhpura in Patna district to the sugarcane fields of Champaran, the sentiment was similar. Competing pledges from both alliances blurred the line between policy and bribery, leaving voters torn between gratitude and doubt.

“The talk everywhere was who will give more—not who will govern better,” said Sanjay Singh, a schoolteacher in Arrah. “It felt like an auction, not an election.”

Season of Announcements

The election, now at its fever pitch, has turned Bihar into a theatre of competing arithmetic. Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) rolled out its Rs 10,000 assistance plan for women, calling it a “direct boost to dignity”.