Dipankar Bhattacharya sees comfortable majority for INDIA in Bihar

Contrary to the narrative in the media, it is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) which is looking frayed and fragmented on the ground, claimed CPI(ML) general-secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya in a conversation with Neelu Vyas for HW News after Tejashwi Yadav was formally declared the Opposition’s chief ministerial face.

There never was any doubt among coalition partners that Tejashwi Yadav was the Opposition face, he added, adding that it is the NDA which has neither declared its chief ministerial face nor held a joint press conference.

On the ground, he said, the infighting between NDA allies was pronounced, with BJP and JD(U) workers opposing each other in several places and JD(U) and LJP supporters clashing in others. This, he claimed, is in sharp contrast to the ground-level unity visible among workers of the INDIA bloc. Although the coalition has grown to a seven-party affair this time from the five-party one in 2020, there is greater unity and coordination among workers.

The BJP and Election Commission of India, he asserted, are hoping for a hung Assembly so that post-poll ‘realignments’ can be worked out to form the government. This is the reason why counting of votes will be done on 14 November, allowing an entire week for post-poll machinations because the government is to be formed by 22 November. However, Bhattacharya believes that voters in Bihar will give a comfortable and decisive mandate to the Opposition.

The days of hung Assemblies are over, he asserted. Voters in Bihar understand the perils of a hung House and of governments with wafer-thin majorities. They will this time vote for change, he believes, after putting up with the NDA government for close to 20 years.

There is a sense of deep dissatisfaction among people, Bhattacharya says, and voters are unlikely to be swayed by talks of ‘jungle raj’ and what might have happened in the state 30 years ago. They are looking at the present and future, he believes.

While lack of employment opportunities has frustrated the youth, the much-vaunted Mahila Rozgar Yojana of the NDA government, under which Rs 10,000 was transferred to over 1.4 crore members of women’s self-help groups, has been punctured by Amit Shah during his visit this week, he pointed out. The Union home minister made it clear that the Rs 10,000 was actually seed money provided to start businesses so that further loans could be given. The scheme should be renamed 'Mahila Karzdar (debtor) Yojana', Bhattacharya quipped.

The situation in the state is grim, he insists. Describing the NDA’s model of development as the ‘flyover-bypass’ model, he said even in state capital Patna, which is covered with flyovers, the poor condition of roads is exposed every time people get off those flyovers.

What people are looking for is a responsive government, a government that listens to the people. They are now so disillusioned with the arrogance of governance, that people have made up their mind to effect a change.

Sensing the public mood, the NDA government, Bhattacharya said, has started paying lip-service to various demands. After 20 long years, social security pensions have now been raised to Rs 1,100 from a paltry Rs 400, he pointed out. Similarly, despite a demand for free electricity up to 200 units, the government has reluctantly introduced free electricity for up to 125 units. People, however, are unlikely to be swayed by such last-minute sops, he added.

A measure of the public mood, he felt, is seen in the sudden tonal shift in the attacks by Prashant Kishor and his Jan Suraj Party. Until two months ago, the attacks were directed at the RJD and Tejashwi Yadav, Bhattacharya pointed out. However, over the past few weeks, Kishor has sensed the mood and begun attacking the NDA and ministers like Samrat Choudhary and Ashok Chaudhary.

While conceding that SIR will make a difference, he appeared confident that the odds are loaded against the incumbent alliance in power. The anti-incumbency on the ground, he suggested, is just too strong.