A cow-belt alliance to cover all bases
Last week’s triple embarrassment in the Rajasthan bypolls may have prompted the BJP brass to do some stocktaking, but for Nitish Kumar it holds no dark portent going forward to 2019. Far from it, the Bihar chief minister gives off an air of quiet confidence on the question of the NDA retaining power at the Centre. “There should be no misgivings about the victory of this alliance,” Nitish told reporters after the Lok Samvad programme in Patna on Monday. “It’s not proper to link the Congress’s success in Rajasthan with the Lok Sabha elections.”
Yet, is there a hint of misgiving? None whatsoever as far as Bihar itself is concerned, where the JD(U) shares the optimism of its chief. “Our alliance is a tried-and-tested one,” Sanjay Jha, party general secretary, tells Outlook. “The JD(U)-BJP combination is simply unbeatable in Bihar.” Which is just as well, because Nitish had gambled big on the NDA winning 2019—even sacrificing the pivotal role envisaged for him in an alternative.
To protect his stake, Nitish now has to help the NDA bag as many of Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha seats as it can get, to offset potential erosion elsewhere in the north. As a strong-alliance state, the dynamics in Bihar is a tad different for the BJP from the rest of the cow belt. Jha reels off past statistics to buttress his point. “Even in 2009, the NDA had swept Bihar, winning 32 seats. We followed that up by winning 206 out of 243 assembly seats the next year,” he says. That too when Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP was not part of NDA. “I don’t see any challenge in 2019 or even the 2020 assembly polls in Bihar,” says Jha.
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin February 19, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin February 19, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
DharmasthalaMantra of Development
Heggade's Path of Development towards Athmanirbharata Traced, How Temples can Transform Life, Economically and Socially
Forking Paths of Sanatana and Dravidian Thought
The evolution from devotional egalitarianism to social justice
Left, Hand Drive
Whether the Congress' Rahul Gandhi or CPI's Annie Raja wins, Wayanad has widened the chasm in the INDIA bloc
Coastal Turbulence
Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada-districts in coastal Karnataka, which witnessed increased instances of polarisation in the last few years-have been the BJP's stronghold
A Return to the Ballot?
Separatist politics may not influence the general elections in Kashmir this time
Miya, Axomia and Tea
The BJP hopes to sweep Assam in the Lok Sabha polls riding on PM Modi and CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's development and Hindutva agenda. The Opposition has constituency-specific strategies
The Stained Floodplains
In the calm foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, there is a storm brewing between the BJP and the TMC. The voters are divided
Minimum Support Life
Politicians visiting Madhya Pradesh are making big promises to the people, but for the Adivasis, it's still about Jal, Jungle, Jameen
Divine Dividend
Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in the popular television series, Ramayan, flips the conventions of devotion on the campaign trail
Next Gen Bahujan
Nagina Lok Sabha constituency in Bijnor district has emerged as a key battleground for the future of Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh