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Growing Show of Unity by Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar Ahead of Bihar Elections
In Bihar where election results have a definite stamp of casteist politics, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s own caste, Baniya has miniscule presence contributing just a little over one per cent of the total votes.
Kejriwal is conscious of the caste equations. He had indeed flaunted his caste to woo the influential Baniya community during the Delhi assembly elections. But Bihar is a different ball game all together. What is worth considering is that Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party is not contesting elections in Bihar either.
His present visit therefore to the poll-bound Bihar at best could be termed reciprocal in nature since Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) had supported Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and not fielded any candidate against the AAP in the February Delhi elections.
Kejriwal’s presence in Bihar did create a flutter within the Bharatiya Janata Party where two Modis – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi have very high stakes. While the Prime Minister is the mascot of the BJP in Bihar elections, the junior Modi is trying hard to position himself as the prime Chief Ministerial candidate in case the BJP wins the elections.
To the initiators, besides the common surname that both Modis share and that common allegiance to the BJP, they have nothing else in common. While the Prime Minister belongs to the Ghanchi community, equivalent to Teli in Bihar who come under Extremely Backward Class (EBC) category, Sushil Kumar Modi belongs to Kejriwal’s caste which falls under Other Backward Class (OBC).
Kejriwal is a known bête noire of PM Modi and had even contested the Lok Sabha elections against the latter. Hence it surprised none when he attacked the Prime Minister over the latter’s controversial “DNA” barb (at a recent rally in Muzaffarpur, the PM had sarcastically referred to Nitish’s DNA to which Nitish had reacted saying it was an insult to the Biharis), and referred to the PM’s special package for Bihar as an attempt to “buy out” the people of Bihar. He also chose the occasion to accuse the Centre of violating the spirit of cooperative federalism – a charge that even Nitish has levelled against the Centre.
Yet, much has already been debated on the reference to theDNA, cooperative federalism as well as the special package of Rs. 1.25 lakh crore to Bihar and Kejriwal had nothing much to add either.
Former minister and influential EBC leader of the BJP, Dr Prem Kumar – himself a strong contender for the CM post in case the BJP wins the elections given the strong 45 per cent presence of EBC in Bihar– termed the coming together of Nitish, Kejriwal, former Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Congress as a “corrupt nexus”.
“If Nitish thinks that Kejriwal’s company will make him look honest in the eyes of the people, then he is grossly mistaken. In the last two years, he has been involved in several scams whether the Rs. 8.62 crore drug and medical equipment scam or the Rs 100 crore scam involving the purchase of medicines…the list goes on and today Nitish faces 503 cases of corruption in spite of the fact that the government did not register any fresh case of corruption in the last six years”,Dr. Prem Kumar claimed.
It is significant that on August 28, Kejriwal also visited Gaya – which has suddenly emerged as a hotbed of political activities with even PM Modi visiting the place to address a rally recently – from where Dr Prem Kumar is a six-time MLA. The latter said Kejriwal was thoroughly exposed by siding with the likes of Nitish and Lalu. “He himself is not above suspicion as he has not yet appointed a Lokayukta in Delhi.”
However, Kejriwal’s visit is not taken lightly by the BJP. He was shown black flags by unknown protestors outside the Patna airport. His visit in particular, has ostensibly posed distinct discomfiture to the junior Modi because of their same caste affiliation. If at all Kejriwal’s presence is going to affect any particular politician, it is Sushil Modi, who has thus far used well his position of leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council, to hog media attention before the state election and left no stone unturned in his bid to project himself as the next CM even when the BJP has shied away from naming any CM candidate in Bihar.
Sushil Modi has manifold challenges largely because of the insignificance of his own caste base in the state politics and Kejriwal deftly targeted him by reminding the gathering in Patna that actually it was Sushil Modi’s BJP which said that “I came from an upadravi gotra (anarchist community)…”
Sushil Modi reacted warily daring him to share stage with Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Congress leaders “who are all now in the same camp (who perpetuated scams at the Centre and in Bihar)”.
But will corruption really matter in Bihar? Kejriwal should know.
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