📰THE HINDU EDITORIAL📰
(English&Hindi)
The shift in Bihar — As Nitish Kumar switches allies, the BJP appears to be the only winner
Nitish Kumar’s impending split from the Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance, in Bihar had been the subject of speculation for months so that when it came, the only surprise was the swiftness and finality of the separation from Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal — and of his embrace of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The sequence of events suggests that Mr. Kumar had secured the new alliance and his continuation as Chief Minister before he resigned. This is why the proffered reason for his resignation — the allegations of corruption against his Deputy Chief Minister and Mr. Prasad’s son, Tejashwi Yadav — lacked conviction. Mr. Kumar’s record of shifting fast and loose between allies is a story of political expediency and it is not entirely clear what political compulsion or personal ambition the latest move was born of. If it was naïve to believe that in 2013 he led the Janata Dal (United) away from the BJP, with which he led a coalition government in Bihar,because of a sudden aversion to prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and communalism, then it is just as ingenuous to think that his recent move is a result of a principled fight against corruption. Surely, Mr. Kumar knew he had teamed up with a party led by a man convicted for corruption in the fodder scam when he joined hands with Mr. Prasad to fight the 2015 Bihar Assembly election? The record shows that Mr. Kumar’s rallying cry changes depending on which political party he chooses to be up against.
As Mr. Kumar inched closer to the BJP, praising demonetisation, supporting its presidential candidate and even colouring a lotus at a public function, the war on corruption became his overriding theme once again. While it is likely he will steer the JD(U) on this political realignment in the days to come, a question mark remains on how long the new arrangement will last. In the BJP’s take-no-prisoners project to expand its electoral footprint, a multi-cornered contest in Bihar, on the lines of the last Lok Sabha election, could be the best-case scenario for the party in 2019. Will it have any use for the JD(U) then? As for Mr. Kumar, he has since 2005 built a constituency made up of vulnerable sub-sections of the electorate: women and the more backward among the Other Backward Classes, Dalits (Mahadalits), and Muslims (Pasmanda Muslims). These are voters he has sought to tie in to the development narrative with his various allies and forge winning coalitions. Whether this tactic has run its course will be known at the next election, mid-term or otherwise. The gains to the JD(U) from the patch-up are not immediately evident, if indeed Mr. Kumar sees something more durable than a settling of scores with Mr. Prasad. What is without doubt is that opposition unity has suffered a setback. The Mahagathbandhan was perceived as the template for taking on the BJP nationally — what’s more, there were many people who hoped, and once again naïvely, that Mr. Kumar would be at the heart of it.
The shift in Bihar — As Nitish Kumar switches allies, the BJP appears to be the only winner
Nitish Kumar’s impending split from the Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance, in Bihar had been the subject of speculation for months so that when it came, the only surprise was the swiftness and finality of the separation from Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal — and of his embrace of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The sequence of events suggests that Mr. Kumar had secured the new alliance and his continuation as Chief Minister before he resigned. This is why the proffered reason for his resignation — the allegations of corruption against his Deputy Chief Minister and Mr. Prasad’s son, Tejashwi Yadav — lacked conviction. Mr. Kumar’s record of shifting fast and loose between allies is a story of political expediency and it is not entirely clear what political compulsion or personal ambition the latest move was born of. If it was naïve to believe that in 2013 he led the Janata Dal (United) away from the BJP, with which he led a coalition government in Bihar,because of a sudden aversion to prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and communalism, then it is just as ingenuous to think that his recent move is a result of a principled fight against corruption. Surely, Mr. Kumar knew he had teamed up with a party led by a man convicted for corruption in the fodder scam when he joined hands with Mr. Prasad to fight the 2015 Bihar Assembly election? The record shows that Mr. Kumar’s rallying cry changes depending on which political party he chooses to be up against.
As Mr. Kumar inched closer to the BJP, praising demonetisation, supporting its presidential candidate and even colouring a lotus at a public function, the war on corruption became his overriding theme once again. While it is likely he will steer the JD(U) on this political realignment in the days to come, a question mark remains on how long the new arrangement will last. In the BJP’s take-no-prisoners project to expand its electoral footprint, a multi-cornered contest in Bihar, on the lines of the last Lok Sabha election, could be the best-case scenario for the party in 2019. Will it have any use for the JD(U) then? As for Mr. Kumar, he has since 2005 built a constituency made up of vulnerable sub-sections of the electorate: women and the more backward among the Other Backward Classes, Dalits (Mahadalits), and Muslims (Pasmanda Muslims). These are voters he has sought to tie in to the development narrative with his various allies and forge winning coalitions. Whether this tactic has run its course will be known at the next election, mid-term or otherwise. The gains to the JD(U) from the patch-up are not immediately evident, if indeed Mr. Kumar sees something more durable than a settling of scores with Mr. Prasad. What is without doubt is that opposition unity has suffered a setback. The Mahagathbandhan was perceived as the template for taking on the BJP nationally — what’s more, there were many people who hoped, and once again naïvely, that Mr. Kumar would be at the heart of it.
📰 हिंदू संपादकीय 📰
बिहार में बदलाव - जैसा कि नीतीश कुमार सहयोगियों को बदलते हैं, भाजपा एकमात्र विजेता प्रतीत होता है
बिहार में महागठबंधन, या ग्रैंड एलायंस से नीतीश कुमार का आसन्न विभाजन, कई महीनों के लिए अटकलों का विषय था, जब यह आया, तो केवल आश्चर्य है कि लालू प्रसाद की राष्ट्रीय जनता दल से जुदाई और उनकी अंतिम आड़ की भारतीय जनता पार्टी घटनाओं के अनुक्रम से पता चलता है कि श्री कुमार ने नए गठबंधन को हासिल कर लिया था और मुख्यमंत्री पद से इस्तीफा देने से पहले उन्हें जारी रखा था। यही कारण है कि उनके पद से इस्तीफा देने की वजह से उनके उपमुख्यमंत्री और श्री प्रसाद के बेटे तेजस्वीवी यादव के खिलाफ भ्रष्टाचार के आरोपों को दोषी ठहराया गया। सहयोगियों के बीच तेजी से और ढीली बदलने के श्री कुमार का रिकॉर्ड राजनीतिक व्यर्थता की कहानी है और यह पूरी तरह से स्पष्ट नहीं है कि क्या राजनीतिक मजबूरी या निजी महत्वाकांक्षा नवीनतम कदम का जन्म हुआ था। अगर यह विश्वास करने के लिए भोलेपन था कि 2013 में उन्होंने जनता दल (यूनाईटेड) को भाजपा से दूर कर दिया, जिसके साथ उन्होंने बिहार में एक गठबंधन सरकार का नेतृत्व किया, क्योंकि प्रधान मंत्री पद के उम्मीदवार नरेंद्र मोदी और सांप्रदायिकता के लिए अचानक घृणा थी, तो यह सिर्फ जैसा लगता है कि उनकी हालिया चाल भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ एक सैद्धांतिक लड़ाई का परिणाम है। निश्चित रूप से, श्री कुमार को पता था कि उन्होंने चारा घोटाले में भ्रष्टाचार के लिए दोषी ठहराए गए एक आदमी की अगुवाई वाली पार्टी के साथ मिलकर काम किया था, जब उन्होंने बिहार विधानसभा चुनाव 2015 में लड़ने के लिए श्री प्रसाद से हाथ मिला लिया था? रिकॉर्ड से पता चलता है कि श्री कुमार के रैलीिंग रोल्स में बदलाव क्या है जिसके आधार पर वह कौन से राजनीतिक पार्टी के खिलाफ हो सकता है।
चूंकि श्री कुमार ने भाजपा के नजदीक बनकर, लोकतांत्रिकता की प्रशंसा की, अपने राष्ट्रपति पद के उम्मीदवार का समर्थन किया और एक सार्वजनिक समारोह में कमल का रंग भी लगाया, भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ युद्ध एक बार फिर से उनकी थीम बन गई। हालांकि यह संभावना है कि आने वाले दिनों में वह इस राजनीतिक संलिप्तता पर जेडी (यू) को आगे बढ़ाएगा, एक सवाल यह है कि नई व्यवस्था कितनी देर खत्म होगी? बीजेपी के ले-न-कैदियों की परियोजना में अपने चुनावी पद का विस्तार करने के लिए, पिछली लोकसभा चुनाव की तर्ज पर बिहार में एक बहु-मुकाबला प्रतियोगिता, 201 9 में पार्टी के लिए सबसे अच्छा स्थिति हो सकती है। क्या इसमें कोई भी होगा तो जेडी (यू) के लिए उपयोग करें? श्री कुमार के लिए, 2005 से उन्होंने निर्वाचन क्षेत्र के कमजोर उप-वर्गों से बना एक निर्वाचन क्षेत्र बनाया है: महिलाओं और अन्य पिछड़ा वर्ग, दलितों (महादलित) और मुसलमानों (पासमांडा मुस्लिम) के बीच अधिक पिछड़े। ये वो मतदाता हैं जिन्होंने अपने विभिन्न सहयोगियों के साथ विकास कथा को टाई और जीतने वाली गठबंधन बनाये। चाहे इस रणनीति को अपना कोर्स चलाया जाए तो अगले चुनाव, मध्य अवधि या अन्यथा में जाना जाएगा। पैट-अप से जेडी (यू) के लाभ तुरंत स्पष्ट नहीं होते हैं, अगर श्री कुमार श्री प्रसाद के साथ स्कोर के निपटारे की तुलना में अधिक टिकाऊ देखते हैं। इसमें संदेह नहीं है कि विपक्षी एकता को एक झटका लगा है। महागठबंधन को राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर भाजपा को लेने के लिए टेम्पलेट के रूप में माना जाता था - क्या अधिक है, बहुत से लोग आशा रखते थे, और एक बार फिर भोलेदार थे, कि श्री कुमार इसके दिल में होंगे।
