Voting is not the end of responsibilities

The people of Bihar did not vote for a strong Opposition in the state Assembly, and that brings back the responsibility to the people themselves.

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It is a greater responsibility than the exercise of the right to vote

THE PEOPLE OF Bihar have spoken. It is 202 seats to the NDA and 35 seats to the MGB. All citizens must accept the verdict. The new government, whoever is the chief minister, deserves our good wishes. Because, those who deserve most our good wishes are the people of Bihar.

The media did not do itself proud in its coverage of the Bihar elections. The few media outlets - newspapers and television channels - that had hewed a slightly different path also joined the herd. The reporters on the ground were speaking in one voice: that people are voting on caste lines; there is no antiincumbency against Mr Nitish Kumar; Mr Tejashwi Yadav brought energy to the campaign but has not been able to expand his appeal beyond his traditional base; Mr Prashant Kishor put fresh ideas before the voters but he is viewed as a startup and untested; Mr Narendra Modi has an instant connect with the electorate; Mr Rahul Gandhi stuck to his main themes of vote chori (vote theft) and unemployment; and so on and so forth. The only new song was dus hazaari (₹10,000) cash transfer to one woman of every household before, during and after the polling.

At bottom rung

The people of Bihar have apparently long memories. They remembered the 15 years of Mr Lalu Prasad's (or his wife's) government (1990-2005) and unfairly blamed Mr Tejashwi Yadav who was barely 16 years old when the government was voted out. They also recalled the 20-year government of Mr Nitish Kumar (or his proxy) but seemed to have no resentment against the multiple failures.