Kanhaiya Kumar, the former JNU student leader often associated with the ‘tukde-tukde gang’, has been foisted on the Bihar unit of the Congress by party leader Rahul Gandhi. On Monday, Rahul took part in the ‘Palayan Roko, Naukri Do’ padyatra launched by Kumar in the bid to find public support in preparation for the assembly elections due later this year. It was also this reason why politicians from Bihar were the most vociferous against the Waqf Amendment Bill in parliament, as Muslims constitute a very crucial votebank in the state. Because there are traditionally a number of parties, each with committed supporters, vying for power, the margins of victory are often narrow and coalitions are required to form government, even a small slide in the support can prove disastrous.
This is the challenge the present Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar faces. His party, the JD(U), is technically in the ‘socialist, secular’ political space, hence dependent on minority votes. The party’s support for the new Waqf law has already provoked some of its Muslim leaders to tender their resignations. However, even further political polarisation would mean ally BJP could more than fill the gap. It does imply, however, that the CM will lose much of the negotiating power when it comes to sharing seats with the BJP.
A similar situation may develop in the opposition front as the RJD may feel it ought to be consulted by the Congress when launching a political movement. Any positive response to the padyatra could persuade Rahul Gandhi and Kumar to demand a greater share of seats at election time. Kumar, in fact, could even emerge as a strong rival to Tejashwi Yadav, largely considered the CM-in-waiting. So, while the Congress may feel entitled to promoting its fortunes as would any other party, not having consulted and involved the RJD could lead to complications.
Rahul Gandhi’s advocacy of a caste census will also find traction in a state where caste consciousness runs high. This, along with the demand for jobs and end to migration, may attract the youth to the party’s fold. If, as in other states, differences on sharing of seats come in the way of a functional alliance, it could lead to a diminished electoral performance. In the larger context, however, the Congress needs to re-establish itself as an all-India party and not be permanently subservient to the RJD, which is nothing more than a single state party. From that point of view, Rahul’s is not a bad strategy.
