Ahead of the 2024 elections, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has intensified his efforts to alienate voters from the BJP and defy the Modi magic utilizing caste census and mahadalit playing cards. Kumar’s celebration the Janata Dal (United) is gearing up for the upcoming elections with a strategic plan to counter the election marketing campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The JDU leaders have already begun a state-wide tour as a part of these preparations. In the approaching month, JDU is about to arrange a key program in Patna, which holds immense significance for the upcoming elections. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been engaged on a brand new political equation for Bihar for fairly a while now and he’s giving remaining form to his efforts.
While the caste, not the event, has been an vital consider Bihar politics, Kumar is now planning to outsmart the BJP utilizing the Mahadalit card, a bit which is broadly thought-about as politically leaderless. Now, Nitish Kumar has concentrated his efforts on bringing them into the fold of the JDU. The celebration’s newest marketing campaign ‘Bhim Samvad’ is scheduled to happen subsequent month, on November twenty sixth, following a earlier plan to carry it on November fifth. The occasion was postponed because of the competition together with Diwali on November twelfth and Chhath Puja, celebrated between November seventeenth and twentieth. These festivals usually witness a big return of Bihari individuals residing in different states again to their properties, notably throughout Chhath when migrant Biharis return in giant numbers. By scheduling this system shortly after Chhath, JDU goals to ascertain a reference to those that quickly reside outdoors the state for employment or different causes.
The JDU is making an attempt to mobilize the Mahadalits by ‘Bhim Samvad’ and the celebration’s goal is to faucet into the substantial voter base of round 20 p.c of Mahadalits. Mahadalits can turn into a big political drive in Bihar in the event that they vote unitedly. A latest caste survey carried out by the state authorities reveals that the Scheduled Castes represent 19.65 p.c of the state’s inhabitants, making them the biggest demographic group after the Extremely Backward Class and Backward Class.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brushed apart the caste census saying that poor individuals ought to have the primary rights over the nation’s assets as they kind the most important chunk of the inhabitants, the opposition events are attempting to woo the voters by exhibiting the lollipop of the caste census. The challenge gained momentum shortly after Bihar turned the primary state to carry a caste census.
In phrases of electoral affect, the mix of Mahadalit castes and Lalu Yadav’s famend MY (Muslim-Yadav) equation may considerably influence the election outcomes. According to the survey, Yadavs in Bihar make up 14.27 p.c of the inhabitants, and Muslims account for 17.70 p.c. When mixed, these two teams represent roughly 32 p.c of the inhabitants. When Mahadalits are added to this equation, the whole determine rises to 42 p.c.
Kumar has entrusted Minister Ashok Choudhary with main this marketing campaign to attach Mahadalits with the celebration. Choudhary is thought for his attain among the many class, having beforehand managed the Bihar unit of the Congress. In addition to Ashok Choudhary, two different ministers have been appointed to make sure the success of ‘Bhim Sansad’. Prohibition and Excise Minister Sunil Kumar has been given cost of Siwan and Gopalganj whereas SC/ST Welfare Minister Ratnesh Sada will oversee Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia, and Katihar areas.
Bihar has 40 parliamentary seats and the BJP-JDU-LJP had received 39 of them in 2019 when Nitish Kumar was with the NDA. Now, since Kumar has joined arms with the RJD and the Congress, the Mahagathnbandhan is trying to prohibit the BJP to as minimal seats as doable.
