The assembly elections in the state of Bihar have entered an interesting phase. The elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with counting of votes scheduled on November 14. The last three months have witnessed intense political activity in the state of Bihar, particularly after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) announced on June 24. This SIR was being conducted after a gap of 22 years, with the last one held in Bihar in the year 2003. The SIR did a through justice to purify the voter list. The opposition, particularly the Congress tried to discredit the election process and SIR but they failed miserably. Thus, the electorate of Bihar is now concentrating on core issues affecting them and the state.
It is necessary to understand the importance of Bihar from the national perspective. Bihar with an estimated population of 13.43 crores is the second most populous state of India, after Uttar Pradesh. It has the highest population density in India. Most importantly, 58% of Bihar’s population is below the age of 25 years, the highest proportion of young population in any state of India. Many of these young people would also be first time voters in Bihar. A state with such a large population (every tenth Indian should be from Bihar) is critical for the growth and development journey towards the aim of Viksit Bharat @2047.
Bihar has faced many challenges in the last 25 years. The most important was the formation of Jharkhand as a new state on November 15, 2000 which was carved out of the mineral rich southern portion of undivided Bihar. The NDA government led by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee fulfilled the long-standing demand of the tribal people to give them a separate state. Every effort by made by PM Vajpayee to ensure that Bihar gets all the economic support but Bihar at that time was being governed by Lalu Pradas Yadav family. Thus, the new state of Bihar had tremendous struggle because of the poor governance in the state. It should also be remembered that Chhattisgarh was also carved out of Madhya Pradesh on November 1, 2000. So, the challenges for the Vajpayee government were immense in the beginning of 21st century.
Bihar was also unfortunate to suffer from indifferent governance under CM Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family from the year 1990 to 2005. These 15 years are also called Jungle Raj in Bihar because of poor law & order and misgovernance in the state. In fact, Bihar lost crucial one and half decades when rest of India was coming out of economic recession and developing. Lalu Prasad Yadav himself was convicted in the fodder scam (Chara Ghotala) in July 1997 and was failed. As expected from a family-based party, he appointed his wife Smt Rabri Devi as the CM of Bihar, who till then was just a home maker. Lalu Prasad Yadav had become synonymous with everything wrong in Bihar and for a person hailing from Bihar, we were made butt of jokes whenever we introduced ourselves as Biharis.
One can imagine the state of affairs in Bihar when Smt Rabri Devi continued to be the CM of Bihar till 2005. Bihar became infamous for kidnapping, murder, extortion, massacre, theft, dacoity, violence and corruption. This era also saw the rise of Naxalism in Bihar and at least 11 districts were severely impacted by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by the mid-1990s. The increasing violence also saw the rise of private upper caste militias, such as Ranvir Sena in 1994 to counter the influence of various LWE elements in the state. For almost 2/3rd of Bihar’s young population, this may not be their personal experience but their elders can certainly recall the horrors of the Jungle Raj.
Nitish Kumar became the CM of Bihar in November 2005 and since then more or less has led the Bihar government. The present ruling NDA coalition where BJP is the largest partner is seeking re-election bid in the upcoming assembly elections. In the last two decades, Bihar has come a long way from the horrors of Jungle Raj to Sushasan (Good Governance) but so much is the backlog in the state that it requires another decade of good governance and double engine government. The last two decades have turned around Bihar remarkably and I no longer feel ashamed to introduce myself as a Bihari.
The economic parameters of progress in Bihar make interesting analysis. The state has grown more than 10 per cent at an average annually, more than the national average. There has been marked improvement in the infrastructure and connectivity projects and today the state has good highways. From my young days when there was no more than 6-8 hours of power supply, today the state is in a position to give 125 units of free power. The women empowerment has been a game changer in Bihar and today females are a major work force in Bihar. The growth story of Bihar has seen remarkable turnaround from the time PM Modi assumed office in May 2014.
There has been a demand for a special economic package for Bihar. PM Modi has continuously supported Bihar government with economic aid from the Centre in the last decade. In the last one year alone, economic packages worth more than Rs. 1.5 lakh crore have been announced or the projects have been completed. Bihar has benefitted the most from various railway projects in the recent years. In the last four years, I have travelled across the state of Bihar and one can witness the transformation in connectivity within and to the neighbouring states. Various MSME projects have taken off in the recent years and the urban landscape of Bihar is very similar to other states. Thus, the growth trajectory in Bihar is impressive.
With almost 8 crore population below the 25 years of age, any state is bound to have unemployment problem. Bihar is an agrarian state but the youth is not much interested in the conventional agriculture. PM Modi has therefore announced an ambitious Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through upgraded ITI (PM-SETU) – a centrally aided scheme with an investment of Rs. 60,000 crores. The scheme aims to modernise 1000 government ITIs to upgrade employability and skills including digital learning. PM-SETU can be a game changer for the youth of Bihar. More importantly, the skill sets would be useful to the youth of Bihar to find employment in other states also.
While some young leaders have emerged on the political landscape of Bihar, none of them have the experience of good governance. That is why we find impractical poll promise of one government job per household in Bihar by the opposition RJD. Such false promises are obviously aimed towards the young voters. Bihar is at that critical stage where it needs steady governance backed by continuous economic assistance by the Centre. It needs continuity in governance with impetus on providing jobs and increasing productivity. The state has to generate more revenue to meet the various development projects. The double engine government is most needed now when Bihar is at the cusp of economic resurgence. Any political turbulence at this stage may be regressive for the state of Bihar.
PM Modi may have to provide the same type of patronage to Bihar he has assiduously done for the state of Gujrat. The state of Bihar requires careful monitoring of various schemes funded by the Centre. Major industrialisation may not be feasible in Bihar immediately but Bihar can become the hub of industries like automobiles and ancillaries with special incentives. It can also be a major educational hub with its vast talent pool available in the state. The MSME sector has the best potential in Bihar. The tourism potential of Bihar has not been realised and this sector too can generate huge employment. The footprint of Army and Air Force can also be increased in the state.
It is therefore important to highlight a future vision for the state of Bihar, with focus towards its contribution in making Viksit Bharat@ 2047. The youth of Bihar including women voters have to be sensitised about the perils of family-owned political outfits which ultimately only look after only their ilk. Even the minorities in Bihar have to see the larger picture for the sake of their future. The voters of Bihar, particularly the youth, have to be conscious that their vote has to be above caste and religious lines. Bihar needs the total indulgence of PM Modi and the NDA government in Bihar is the best bet to transform Bihar as the front-line state of Bharat.
