Cracks appear in RJD’s M-Y base

The performance of the ‘Mahagathbandhan, or the Grand Alliance — 35 seats at a strike rate of 14.4% — in the Bihar assembly elections was the result of many factors.

- Anirban Guha Roy

The most worrying for the largest constituent of the alliance, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (25 seats at a strike rate of 17.5%) is the emergence of cracks in its ‘Muslim-Yadav (MY) base.

The RJD gave around 50 tickets to Yadavs, who account for around 14% of the population, and around 20 to Muslims, who account for 17%, ina bid to woo the two communities. But the alliance’s decision to declare that Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahani would be the deputy chief minister if it came to power proved counterproductive. The party's base, primarily from the fishing and boatmen community, accounts for a mere 2% of the state's electorate.