Beyond caste and religion, Bihar spoke about call drop and dal price too

Bihar cannot think beyond caste when voting, goes the conventional wisdom. That perhaps is the reason why political players always try to get the caste arithmetic right before going to polls. Communalism has been around for some time too. Parties try to polarize votes on religious lines. Both caste and communal cards were played freely in this assembly election, but there were other issues, perhaps more important than the earlier two given their everyday nature, which also played a role in shaping the voters’ preference. Here we go. Call drop: The crowd is dispersing after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a well-attended crowd in Purnea ahead of the final phase of election. Piyush, 21, so far silent on a post-rally discussion at a tea shop, speaks up.[caption id=“attachment_2499066” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Beyond caste politics. PTI[/caption] “Modiji puchte hain ki bijli aayi…lekin call drop par kuch nahin bolte. Unhen pata nahin hai ki bijli to gaon gaon men pahuch gayi. Hamara phone bhi charge rahta hai lekin phir bhi hum thik se baat kar paate hain…Har thori der par call kat jata hai…yeh to kendra ka vibhag hai…phir aisa kyun ho raha hai? (Modiji asks whether we get electricity…but does not say anything about call drop…he perhaps does not know that electricity has been supplied to villages and we now have no problem recharging our handsets. But what troubles us is call drop…the calls get disconnected after every few minutes…the Centre has jurisdiction over this (telecom) department…then why is this happening?” He was not alone raising the issue of call drop. It was heard from many youth of his age in different districts. Some even questioned senior BJP leaders over this issue. Education: Pinki, a first time voter at Simaraha village at Forbesganj constituency, is a die-hard supporter of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but she was sceptical about the JD(U)’s alliance with the RJD. “We were provided an atmosphere to go out without any fear and breathe in fresh air. We were given bicycles to go schools. Two-set school uniforms a year and scholarships on passing matriculation (standard 10) and intermediate (10+2) with first and second divisions strengthened our aspirations to go for higher education," she said amid confusion that how a leader like him, who is “truly a Vikas Purush (man of development)” can join hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav who is the “symbol of misrule”. “I don’t know who has tied up with whom. But I know that Nitish’s tenure was girls’ tenure. We raced ahead in every field and it is time to pay him back ignoring his political compulsions,” the 20-year-old said. Pramod Kumar, a resident of Madhubani who is pursuing bachelors in pharmacy from a college in Bangalore, also acknowledges the work done by Nitish Kumar but is not much impressed with the steps taken by him to promote education. “Though Nitish Kumar’s work has been impressive, a lot needs to be done. Instead of focussing more on establishing universities and colleges, the government should strengthen its elementary education system. Look at the quality of teachers appointed on contract basis few years in primary and upper primary schools. They know nothing. What will they teach the young students,” he asks. Price rise and black money: Bhim Lal Yadav (47), Chahayi Parihar, Vinod Parihar and Kapil Dev Sharma in Barsoi under Balrampur assembly segment in Katihar voted for Modi to change power at the Centre. “We voted for Modi because he had talked about lowering prices of essential commodities and bringing back black money stashed abroad. But nothing has happened so far. For the poor men like us, dal (pulses) has become something we can only now dream about,” they said. Sharma cracked a joke adding that they are “still awaiting the Rs 15 lakh to be deposited” in the accounts. “Modiji promised us jobs. It turned out to be only a jumla. Even the MGNREGA is not working well,” says another passerby Gaurav. Non-performance of sitting MLAs In most of the constituencies, the electorate say they have changed their choice because of poor performance of their representatives. Migration: Lack of job opportunities, which is resulting in large-scale migration from the state, was a major election issue in the state, especially in Seemanchal. Despite the four districts – Kishanganj, Araria, Purnea and Katihar – being rich in jute, tea and paddy cultivation, farmers here are forced to live miserable lives and youth are migrating to bigger cities for livelihood. “The inaction of both the Centre as well as the state on this front has forced us to look for another option,” said Mukhtar Ansari indicating to support Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslemeen (AIMIM). Though Om Prakash Singh in Purnea does not favour AIMIM, but he also voiced the same concern. “We have always been fooled by different political parties. Their leaders come and make tall promises. After their candidates win, they never bother to pay another visit in the next five years. But things have changed now. No work, no vote,” he added.