The Bihar vote
The electorate in Bihar State has unambiguously given its stamp of approval to the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to stay in office for another five years.
The historic victory is a clear indication that the political career and popularity of Mr. Kumar have reached its zenith. The rejection of the INDIA bloc is an unquantifiable setback, which despite its high-octane campaigns — much touted ‘vote theft’ presentations by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and a plethora of promises by Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav — failed to resonate with the voters.
The NDA now faces the next set of Assembly elections, scheduled for next year, with redoubled vigour and confidence. If the INDIA bloc has to stay relevant in the electoral arena, it should pore over the reasons for its humiliating defeat, reorient its strategy, and take up the issues confronting people in all earnestness. If not, it will face a humongous task to regain the trust of the people.
V. Johan Dhanakumar,
Chennai
The Bihar election result has again shown up a political truth — the poor state of Congress party and the INDIA bloc. The Nitish Kumar-led NDA coalition struck gold by adopting strategies to empower women.
Midhlaj P.M.,
Changaramkulam, Kerala
The Opposition has quickly turned its ire towards the Election Commission of India, hinting that the ruling alliance’s sweep in Bihar owes more to institutional indulgence than electoral persuasion.
Yet, the NDA has been astute in wrapping each contested act in the comfort of legal propriety: the cash transfer as welfare continuity and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls as routine electoral hygiene. Such manoeuvres may fall within the rulebook, but they inevitably raise a quieter question — how much of democracy lies in law, and how much in trust?
Gopalaswamy J.,
Chennai