As mentioned earlier, the results of the Bihar assembly election are not just important for the state, but also for the nation, as it will decide the direction politics will take in the future. A win for the opposition alliance will mean that the ‘vote chor’ type of campaign works and there will be more of it. The win may or may not be because of the campaign, but that is how it will be interpreted.
On the other hand, a win for the NDA will be a sign that another kind of approach will have to be adopted to win the people’s favour. It will give PM Modi greater confidence to continue with his governance model. Unlike many other countries, India’s leadership requires continuous affirmation of this sort to be able to perform. Also, there are other important state elections coming up in which the BJP would like to make breakthroughs to widen its support base.
Bihar too needs to break out of its image as a state where people are programmed to vote on the basis of caste and shameless giveaways. The people must decide on a development model that will bring them up to the general parameters of the country. The present dispensation, though by no means perfect, has been striving to slowly build up the base for a developed Bihar. It has not had much time to do so, although it may seem that twenty years of Nitish rule would have had consistencies in this regard. However, much of this period has seen political turmoil as he skipped from one alliance to another to stay in power. Experts agree, however, that despite all that, he has tried to bring about a better life for the people. A change in regime now would undo all that, resulting in the return of the caste-based governance model.
Going by reports, support for the Chief Minister has increased over the past few months as the people have gone over all the options. He is being looked at as the stabilising force rather than a fading leader in poor health. While it is tricky to trust the exit polls, these too are indicating the same thing. The opposition alliance, on the other hand, has already begun claiming irregularities. As the results roll out on Friday, it will be once again a period of reckoning for India and its democracy.
