Bihar Assembly election | Voters complain of lack of option

A typical chorus within the northern belt of Bihar is the lack of ‘vikalp’ or option the voter is in search of a change however doesn’t know the place to go. Peop,e say the ‘jungle raj’ has been changed by a ‘babu raj’ (bureaucrats’ rule), and muscle energy changed by cash energy.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP leaders discuss growth. But voters say this growth is coming at a price. Umesh Mandal, a every day wager within the Rupauli constituency of Purnia district, sums up, “Road ka badmash salta gaya. Block main badmash ko la kar baitha diya. Sarkar kehti hai, road main dakaity kyun karte ho, block main aa kar directly karo [The criminals are no longer on the road, they are now sitting in block offices. The government says why do roadside dacoity, let’s do it sitting inside the block offices.]

Corruption is a common theme in this election and perhaps the only recent parallel of such a sharp discourse against bribery was in the 2014 general election against the Congress-led UPA government. People complain about being forced to pay “cuts” for each little work, from getting their pension to authorities entitlements such because the Indira Awas Yojana, the place the federal government provides funds to assemble a pucca or brick home.

“If you want a house under the Indira Awas Yojana, then you have to pay ₹ 30,000 in bribes. For toilets, under the Swachch Bharat Mission, you have to shell out ₹ 2000. There is some error in my voter ID card. To get that corrected, I have to pay ₹ 200,” says an exasperated Kedarnath Mahant, who’s from the Tanti group, a particularly backward caste.

List is lengthy and pressing

People level out how roads final solely a season, prohibition that’s solely on paper, about vapour avenue lamps that had been promised however not delivered, about faculties which have buildings however no academics, about graduates who’re lazying across the village with none viable employment. The checklist is lengthy and pressing. Equally sturdy is the chorus for a change and the lament that there isn’t a option.

“Nitish hamari Mazboori hai, option hi kya hai,” Mijesh Kumar from Damadaha Dakshin says. He is evident: his alternative in Narendra Modi, and the vote for the NDA is a vote for Mr. Modi. Mr. Kumar and his mates, all sitting round a machan, rue about unemployment. “If there were factories here, why would anyone go to Punjab,” says Ravikant Thakur, who belongs to the Nai group. But ask them about RJD’s chief minister contender Tejashwi Yadav’s ballot promise of 10 lakh jobs, Mr. Thakur observes that he can’t be their alternative. “We want Modi, so we have to vote for Nitish”.

Subash Shah, who runs a small roadside stall about 30 km away from Purnia city, factors on the street forward with its prime layer lacking with simply stones and gravel and autos plying on it rhythmically jingle jangle. “Vote dena padega Modi ko hi, Lalu ko dete hai toh laaltain bujh jaayega,” [will have to vote for Modi, if we vote for Lalu, then the hurricane lamp will be doused], he says.

Miles away on the Banmakhi constituency, Vijay Kumar, who belongs to the Mallah group, says he’s voting for Mr. Modi and never for Mr. Nitish Kumar. “We don’t want Nitish as our chief minister,” he asserts. There isn’t any cogent clarification as to why he desires Mr. Kumar changed besides that he has been on the helm for 15 years.

Memories of Lalu-Rabri regime

And recollections and tales of the 15-year Lalu-Rabri regime are nonetheless alive, at the least within the minds of some. At Forbesganj, in Araria district, a energetic debate ensues on Mr. Nitish Kumar vs Mr. Lalu Prasad. Vishnu Dev Yadav, a every day wager, speaks nostalgically about how Mr. Prasad gave them the social recognition, making certain that they will sit throughout a ahead caste particular person on a chair as an alternative of being informed to take a seat on the bottom. Chandra Mandal a kurmi, snaps again, “Have you forgotten how the police used to snatch money from us. Any one with a gun was a raja back then,” he notes.

And it isn’t simply Mr. Nitish Kumar’s loyal vote financial institution of kurmis and koeries, he has just a few uncommon votaries amongst older Muslims too.

At the Korha meeting constituency, in Katihar district, Shahbuddin, who’s in his early 40s and runs a car restore store will get, right into a spat with 19-year-old first-time voter Mohammad Tariq, who’s coaching to be an electrician. “No other government has done as much as the Nitish government has done. He got us roads, electricity… ” Mr. Shahbuddin says. ‘These are no favours’, Mr. Tariq interjects. “Road, water, electricity are our basic rights. By providing these, no government is doing us a favour,” he factors out.

And Mr. Tariq is in no temper to purchase the ‘jungle raj’ narrative. That was 15-years again, he says. Now issues have modified. “My father is a farmer and I am studying in ITI. Father and son do not have to be alike,” he provides.