Bihar Assembly Elections Archives - Lokmarg

‘Cong-Left Have No Pull In Bihar; One Hopes PK Is Not Another Kejriwal’

By Lokmarg 26th October 2025

Dr Satyajit Singh, 75, a physician, social activist & entrepreneur, wishes Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj to change the caste-based politics in Bihar. His views:

Electoral rolls revision (SIR) in Bihar was essential to correct and update voter’s details. Many voters have died, changed their place of residence; many people are registered as voter at more than one place. However, SIR is an example of how right things are done in a wrong way.

First, it was done in great hurry. Second, initially, the documents required were near impossible for many people. Thank goodness, the Supreme Court prevailed and made Aadhar card enough for identity. But it’s also a fact that wrong people get Aadhar cards made in their name.

The Election Commission, in fact most government agencies, are not independent and strong enough to be trusted for being non-partisan in their work. The perception is that they are selective in their investigation, and not necessarily ‘an accused being innocent’.

Rahul Gandhi’s Vote Adhikari Yatra did have huge gatherings, but there is no strong cadre to follow up the momentum. The Mahagathbandhan will be a formidable force against the NDA but Modi and Nitish are more popular in perception. How much of their popularity is converted into votes only the ‘ballot box’ will tell.

The candidates of AIMIM of Owaisi are contesting from all Muslim dominated constituencies where lies the strength of the Mahagathbandhan, particularly RJD. Naturally, they will affect the vote-base of the alliance, especially the RJD.

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Prashant Kishore’s Jan Suraaj is the only party which is not based on caste and religion. This party is offering candidates who are educated and professionals, and who have been successful in their life. They are attracting youth in large numbers. This is the only party whose movements have been on since the last few years, as an organisation, and now as a political party; they have a minutely compiled strategy.

When wrong elements are elected, then people argue, that since there no better candidate from any party, so they had to vote based on caste. However, the Jan Suraj Party is giving an alternative of educated and professionals as candidated for the first time in Bihar. How much Prashant Kishore will convert this in term of votes, in a highly polarised elections based on caste and religious bias, is being eagerly awaited.

Offering LJP a large number of seats indicates that Nitish Kumar needs Chirag Paswan for mobilising the EBC voters. His association with BJP has definitely eroded Muslim support. The appeal and strength of most regional parties are based on caste — from south to north India. BJP, despite many good development works to showcase, still uses religious emotions as the main plank of their election strategy.

The weakening of a centrist Congress and the Left has eroded a strong opposition which is necessary for democracy. Sad to see the Congress not letting brighter young politicians to come on the centre-stage! I have nothing against Rahul Gandhi, but he gives the impression, that he is at the top due to family domination.

The Left has lost its constituents of the poor working class vote shifting to caste and family-dominated parties which have no national or international agenda. The Left alone fights on a secularism plank, but it too gives the perception of not being unbiased, as pro-minority and anti-Hindu — which becomes beneficial to BJP in voter-polarisation. It’s sad to see a party built on international revolutionary ethos, standing behind caste and religious combinations — in the third row — making themselves irrelevant in Indian electoral politics.

In a polarised atmosphere, the space for a real, secular, liberal and democratic collective of people is shrinking fast. It is hoped that the Jan Suraj experiment succeeds to bring our democracy out of these narrow narratives, but Arvind Kejriwal’s debacle has also created serious apprehension in people’s mind.

(Dr Singh, having worked and taught in London for several years, returned to Patna in 1996 and established a lithotripsy centre in Bihar-Jharkhand. It has became a 400-bed multi-speciality hospital – Ruban group of hospitals – which specialising in advanced laser and robotic surgery. His vision has been to create institutions of healthcare, and there is a plan to set up a medical college near Patna. Among other things, he is involved with Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA), Patna Literary Festival, and grassroots work in rural areas.

As told to Amit Sengupta

‘Nitish Is Unlikely To Remain Bihar CM; PK, Owaisi Are Irrelevant’

By LokMarg 14th October 2025

Anup Srivastava, a political observer from Patna, says even if the NDA returns to power in Bihar, Nitish may not find himself at the helm. His views:

Beginning with the ruling NDA alliance, it is clearly visible for the past couple of years that CM Nitish Kumar is lagging on two fronts – his age-related issues and the voices of discontent in his own party, the BJP and other alliance partners. However, the hard fact remains that BJP cannot win the elections and form the government on its own. Hence, a `substantial’ partner like JD(U) is a necessity for the BJP along with other smaller associates.

In the last 2020 Vidhan Sabha elections, the main opposition party RJD won 75 seats, followed by the BJP with 74, JD(U) 43, the Congress were at 19 followed by others. It was indeed a neck and neck fight last time as the RJD under Tejashwi Yadav offered good resistance and gave the NDA a run for their money.

Like last time, this time also, the LJP(R), led by cabinet minister Chirag Paswan, is the most difficult partner for the NDA to handle as new permutations and combinations regarding seat sharing formula with Chirag are making news on a daily basis. In 2020, Chirag contested on 135 seats and although his party did not win a single seat, it secured over 23 Lakh votes, substantially damaging JD(U) and bringing down its tally by over 20 seats.

Other NDA partners like Upendra Kushwaha (RLM) and Jitan Ram Manhji (HAM) have no visible or vocal grudges regarding the number of seats they are offered and till date, and remain a confidant of the alliance.

The ongoing complications going on between the RJD and the Congress are visible as they have not reached any acceptable, clear-cut seat-sharing formula till now. It also appears that the Congress is not been offered a `respectable’ share of seats as it is also evident from the fact that while other partners of the UPA have agreed on Tejashwi’s name as the CM candidate of UPA, Congress is still maintaining that talks will be held after the result.

‘Vote Adhikar Yatra Failed To Have A Big Impact In Bihar’

By Lokmarg 16th September 2025

Prashant Manav, a student associated with socio-political movements in Bihar, says Election Commission’s rolls revision has made the state voter suspicious of SIR. His views:

Rahul Gandhi began his “Vote Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar from the historic land of Sasaram. He was the central face of this journey. While it can be considered successful, calling it a “great success” would be an overstatement. This yatra only covered a few districts; out of Bihar’s 38 districts, he was only able to cover 23.

These 23 districts contain about 50 assembly constituencies, where the Mahagathbandhan had won 23 seats in the 2020 assembly elections. Specifically, if we talk about Congress, they contested on 20 of those 50 seats and won eight. Based on these figures, it’s evident that the purpose of the Yatra was to secure their existing strongholds and consolidate some potentially favourable seats. So to say this Yatra had a massive impact across all of Bihar would be incorrect.

Regarding the crowds — yes, there was a significant turnout, but not to the extent that was expected. In fact, had it not been for the RJD workers, even those crowds could have been questionable. Many of the cities and places he visited are already strongholds of the alliance.

As for the ‘vote theft issue’, it has certainly stirred anger within some specific communities, which may benefit the Mahagathbandhan. But overall across Bihar, the issue of vote tampering hasn’t become a major concern for the general public.

Removing 6.5 million voters from the electoral list is no small matter. In a state like Bihar, where administrative flaws are frequently exposed, people are naturally suspicious of how the Election Commission managed to execute such a massive task in such a short time. Under the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process, removing so many voters so quickly raises serious questions — like, under whose influence did the Commission make such a huge decision?

It seems that this mass deletion disproportionately targeted specific communities, and such a detailed, strategic plan could only have been prepared by those in power — likely developed over years. If the decision was truly neutral and independent, it wouldn’t have been implemented so hastily.

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Another major controversy was the discovery of more than 200 registered voters at a single empty house. This kind of mistake shows administrative manipulation, as these entries were accepted without proper verification.

Unemployment in India has risen significantly in recent years, and the current government is largely responsible for this. It is the government’s duty to create jobs and opportunities — but no such effective policies have emerged. Even when job openings are announced, recruitment processes are often marred by corruption. This has left the poor, middle class, and educated youth frustrated. So, yes, the reason why youth are attending Rahul Gandhi’s rallies is primarily due to their anger with the current government.

Nitish Kumar remains a key factor in the upcoming 2025 Bihar elections. Ignoring his presence in this election is not just difficult, it’s impossible. He still retains credibility among a section of voters, largely due to his role in freeing Bihar from the so-called ‘Jungle Raj’ era. That generation still respects him and plays a decisive role in the ‘family-vote’.

The BJP-led alliance NDA has played a masterstroke by launching the ‘Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana’ (Chief Minister Women Employment Scheme), similar to schemes in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. This is a well-timed move to attract women voters just before elections. Besides, with 6.5 million voters removed, NDA stands to gain substantially. Their political strategy has always focused on specific communities and issues, and now they can concentrate even more narrowly on those groups.

Bihar has always led the country in political thought and revolutionary movements. However, in recent assembly elections, it seems to have lost that leadership spark — it’s a progressive state only in name, still categorized among the BIMARU states. There may be a political shift in the future, but as of now, no clear sign of that change is visible.

(The narrator is a student of MIT SOG Student (MPG Batch-20), Pune with roots in Bihar. Currently, he is pursuing internship as a political assistant to Pushpam Priya Choudhary, founder of The Plurals Party, an initiative to bring in grassroots change in Bihar.)

As told to Amit Sengupta

Bihar: BJP Leader Dies After Police Lathicharge During Protest

By LokMarg 13th July 2023

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday alleged that a leader of the party died after sustaining injuires during police lathi-charge as party workers were marching to the Bihar Assembly during a massive protest against the Nitish Kumar-led government in the state today.

The Police allegedly fired tear gas shells, used water cannons to stop party workers from marching to the Bihar Assembly.BJP workers were holding protest on the various demands including amended teachers recruitment policy.
Taking to Twitter, BJP senior leader Sushil Kumar Modi who was part of the protest said, “Arrested by Bihar Police in Patna. Jehanabad dist GS Vijay Kumar Singh died in brutal police lathi charge.”

Further talking to ANI, Modi said the BJP will file a case against the police officials under the section for murder.

“It is so unfortunate that one of our party workers died due to a lathi charge by the police. He died on the way to the hospital. We will lodge murder charges against the police. Nitish Kumar is responsible for all this,” Bihar former Deputy CM Sushil Modi said.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas Paswan) chief Chirag Paswan, while condoling the death, lashed out at the Bihar government and CM Nitish Kumar holding him responsible for the incident.

“I condole the death of BJP worker Vijay Singh, on behalf of my party… I also want to ask Nitish Kumar and the Bihar government, who is responsible for his death. Somebody was beaten to death by a lathi…those who raise their voice against the state govt is silenced by lathi…CM must answer, he is accountable for this death”: Chirag Paswan said. (ANI)

Political Milking Of Sushant’s Death

By Anita Katyal 14th August 2020

It is a month since Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide but there is no let-up in the controversial and often unsubstantiated revelations which are continuously being aired by television networks on his untimely demise, particularly since the case acquired political overtones.

From an initial discussion on mental health of actors to nepotism in the Hindi film industry and discrimination against outsiders, 34-year-old Rajput’s death has degenerated into an all-out war between the Maharashtra and Bihar governments which are currently led by opposing political coalitions.

It is no coincidence that the Bihar government, led by National Democratic Alliance partners, Janata Dal (U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, has upped the ante on this case as the state assembly elections are due in a few months. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s popularity ratings have dipped in recent weeks as the state machinery is unable to cope with the rising cases of coronavirus.

Fighting with his back to the wall, the Rajput case has proved to be a handy diversion for Nitish Kumar who has successfully deflected public attention by decrying the Maharashtra government’s tardy investigation into the death of Bihar’s son Rajput. It helps that the Maharashtra government is headed by his coalition partner BJP’s bete noire Shiv Sena.

It suits the Janata Dal (U) and the BJP to build pressure on the Maharashtra government by keeping up the narrative on Rajput’s “mysterious death”. In Bihar, the two parties have an eye on the Rajput vote, a small but influential community which has been demanding justice for the actor.

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It is not just the JD(U) and the BJP which are eyeing the Rajput vote but opposition parties, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, have also joined the race. The two parties joined the chorus for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation when the issue figured in the state assembly when it met recently for a day to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the state.

BJP legislator Neeraj Kumar Singh, the actor’s cousin, raised the demand first, drawing instant support from across the political spectrum. Leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD went a step further and proposed that the upcoming film city at Rajgir be named after Rajput while Congress leader Sadanand Singh suggested that the assembly adopt a resolution demanding an inquiry by the Central agency.

If tempers are running high in Bihar, it is no different in Maharashtra. Always on the lookout for issues on which it can discredit the Uddhav Thackeray government, the BJP feels the Rajput case is a potent weapon to mount an effective attack against the chief minister and his son Aditya Thackeray. Former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane and his son Nilesh have been particularly vocal and even suggested that Rajput was murdered. They have demanded that Aditya Thackeray should step down as minister to facilitate a fair probe since his name has figured during the course of a hearing in the Supreme Court.

Finding himself under constant attack, Aditya Thackeray broke his silence to deny his involvement in the case while his Shiv Sena colleagues are putting up a stout defence in his favour. Senior party leader Sanjay Raut, who has been at the forefront in hitting out at the BJP, described its allegations as a “political conspiracy”, aimed at maligning the government because the opposition did not succeed in toppling it.

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Though the controversy regarding Rajput’s death had been simmering since he was found hanging in his Bandra apartment on July 14, it picked up pace after the Bihar police registered a case against the actor’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and others on July 25 following a complaint filed by the dead artist’s father KK Singh. The charges ranged from cheating, abetment to suicide and wrongful confinement.

On cue, the Bihar government dispatched a team of police officers to Mumbai to investigate the case. Furious at this interference, the Maharashtra government retaliated by placing Vinay Tiwari, the leader of the Bihar police squad, under quarantine by citing existing guidelines for containing coronavirus.

At the same time, the Maharashtra police made it clear that the Bihar police has no jurisdiction to investigate the matter in their state as the incident took place in Mumbai. Moreover, it said, it was already in the process of investigating Rajput’s death. The Bihar police charged that the Maharashtra police was deliberately going slow in this matter as it was protecting an important person (read chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son and minister Aditya Thackeray) whose name is said to have surfaced during the investigations.

This opened the floodgates further as charges and counter-charges have been flying thick and fast. Faced with an obdurate Maharashtra government and under all-round pressure from political parties in Bihar, an angry Nitish Kumar proposed that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. It was not surprising that the request was accepted with alacrity by the BJP-led ruling alliance at the Centre. Normally a demand for a CBI probe is made by the state government where the crime has occurred. In this instance, rules were conveniently bypassed by the Centre which acceded to the Bihar government’s demand even though the incident took place in another state.

Meanwhile, the case gets murkier by the day. Besides the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate has been summoning the actor’s girlfriend and other associates for questioning. Rajput’s father has accused Chakravorty of siphoning off Rs. 15 crore from his son’s bank account, of overdosing him with drugs and creating a wedge between the actor and his family.

Needless to say, the media has had a field day reporting and “investigating” this case. It has essentially declared that Chakravorty is guilty. Breathless and excited reporters on television news channels have, with leaks from helpful sources, accessed details of Rajput’s holidays with his girlfriend and provided “breaking news” about the actor’s finances and mental health in back-to-back coverage. Chakravorty is predictably the villain of the piece.

With Bihar elections a few months away, it can be safely said that interested political parties will continue to work doubly hard to ensure that the Rajput case remains centrestage.

Will JP Nadda Come Out Of Shah’s Shadow?

By Anita Katyal 15th February 2020

The humiliating defeat suffered by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Delhi assembly election has not proved to be an auspicious beginning for the party’s month-old president JP Nadda. Though it is true that it was Union Home Minister Amit Shah who led the party’s high-decibel campaign in Delhi, history books will record the result as BJP’s first electoral drubbing under Nadda’s stewardship.

Out of power for over two decades, the BJP was predictably desperate to take control in Delhi. But the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party proved to be a formidable opponent and the BJP fell by the wayside once again.

Well before Nadda took over as the BJP’s 11^th president, it was widely acknowledged that he will not enjoy the same powers as his predecessor Amit Shah did but, nevertheless, would be called to take responsibility for the party’s poll defeats as well as organisational matters.

Nadda began his tenure with a disadvantage as it is difficult to live up to Shah’s larger-than-life image. Amit Shah, who served as BJP president for five years has easily been the most powerful party head in recent times. Known for his supreme organisational skills, Shah is chiefly responsible for the BJP’s nation-wide expansion, having built a vast network of party workers and put in place formidable election machinery. No doubt Modi’s personality, charisma and famed oratory drew in the crowds but there is no denying that Shah contributed equally to the string of electoral victories notched by the BJP over the last five years.

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Given that Shah has revamped the party organisation from scratch and placed his loyalists in key positions, there are serious doubts that the affable, low-key and smiling Nadda will be allowed functional autonomy. Will he be able to take independent decisions, will he constantly be looking over his shoulder, will he be allowed to appoint his own team or will he be a lame-duck party president? These are the questions doing the rounds in the BJP as there is all-round agreement that Shah will not relinquish his grip over the party organisation. This was evident in the run-up to the Delhi assembly polls as it was Shah and not Nadda who planned and led the party’s election campaign.

In fact, it is acknowledged that Nadda was chosen to head the BJP precisely because he is willing to play the second fiddle to Shah. Party leaders maintain that the new president is unlikely to make any major changes in the near future and that he will be consulting Shah before taking key decisions. For the moment, state party chiefs appointed by Shah have been re-elected, ensuring that the outgoing party president remains omnipresent.

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Though Nadda has inherited a far stronger party organisation as compared to his earlier predecessors, the new BJP president also faces a fair share of challenges. He has taken over as party chief at a time when the BJP scraped through in the Haryana assembly polls, failed to form a government in Maharashtra and was roundly defeated in Jharkhand. The party’s relations with its allies have come under strain while the ongoing protests against the new citizenship law, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register have blotted the BJP’s copybook.

These developments have predictably came as a rude shock to the BJP leadership and its cadres who were convinced that the party was invincible, especially after it came to power for a second consecutive term last May with a massive mandate.

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Nadda’s first task has been to boost the morale of party workers and make them believe that the recent assembly poll results were a flash in the pan and that the BJP’s expansion plans are on course.

After Delhi, the Bihar election poses the next big challenge this year. The party’s ally, the Janata Dal (U), has upped the ante, meant primarily to mount pressure on the BJP for a larger share of seats in this year’s assembly elections. Realising that the BJP cannot afford to alienate its allies at this juncture, Amit Shah has already declared Nitish Kumar as the coalition’s chief ministerial candidate, which effectively puts the Janata Dal (U) in the driver’s seat. This has upset the BJP’s Bihar unit which has been pressing for a senior role in the state and is even demanding that the next chief minister should be from their party.

The BJP has to necessarily treat its allies with kid gloves as they have been complaining about the saffron party’s “big brother” attitude and that they are being taken for granted. While Shiv Sena has already parted company with the BJP, other alliance partners like the Lok Janshakti Party and the Shiromani Akali Dal have also questioned the BJP’s style of functioning.

The crucial West Bengal assembly election next year will also be held during Nadda’s tenure. The BJP has been working methodically on the ground in this state for the past several years now and has staked its prestige on dethroning Mamata Banerjee.

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But the Trinamool Congress chief is putting up a spirited fight, sending out a clear message to the BJP that it will not be so easy to oust her. Banerjee has declared war against the Modi government on the issues pertaining to the CAA-NRC-NPR and also activated her party cadres who have spread across the state to explain the implications of the Centre’s decision to the poor and illiterate. The BJP, on the other hand, is struggling to get across its message.

As in the case of Delhi, Shah can be expected to take charge of the Bihar and West Bengal assembly polls while Nadda will, at best, be a marginal player. Again it will be left to Shah to mollify the party’s allies as it is too sensitive and important a task to be handled by Nadda.

Like all political parties led by strong leaders, a BJP defeat will be seen as Nadda’s failure while a victory will be credited to Modi and Shah.