Will RJD, Congress follow Nitish’s lead

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s record of positive development outcomes during his tenure is strong. Yet, when Mr Kumar broke ties with the BJP last year, his erstwhile ally and its primarily upper caste social base derided the chief minister.

They said that he became capable of doing good only because he had the backing of a party like the BJP. It is up to the new victors in the recent Bihar election — the Mahagathbandhan of the JD(U), RJD and Congress — to prove that claim wrong.

Challenges arrive in many forms after elections are won handsomely — just recall the Janata experiment of 1977. The first call on the winners will be to preserve the political stability of the alliance. The Congress had a crucial role to play in ensuring this and the party must seek to continue to be the glue that keeps these parties going.

Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD has won more seats than the JD(U) of Mr Kumar, who is the soul of the ruling alliance, and around whom voters from all sections of society had no problem coalescing, given his personality and absence of anti-incumbency.

But Mr Yadav heads a powerful and active constituency. Its energy can be tapped for good outcomes, for example by incentivising them to get into the small and medium industry sector — with a strong agro-industry component — energetically backed by the state. Marketing of agri-produce can also play an important role in helping the rural sector integrate with urban Bihar.

An in-built advantage this alliance has is that all the three parties have a vested interest in prolonging its life, especially when they know that either of the two big parties — the RJD and the JD(U) — can pull it down in a minute.

Much has been rightly said about the “jungle raj” during the tenure of the RJD’s leading family for 10 years after 1990. It’s been nearly two decades since that phase ended, and it cannot be automatically surmised that Mr Yadav’s cohorts will play spoilsport. In the changed context, the RJD should not be dismissed without a fair trial, and Mr Yadav himself will need to play a restraining patriarchal hand. On the ground, the chief minister should try to make it easy for private investment to roll in, especially for small and medium industries, particularly looking at their employment-generation potential as work in agriculture is thinning. Can the Patna stock exchange be revived, with specialisation in the small and midcap area Flood control, with Nepal’s help, in the Kosi and Gandak basin and generating hydel energy is also a major work area.

Before the new winners seek to play a major national role, let them bring about positive energy in Parliament geared towards passing needed legislation on which broad agreement can be secured.