Reference Auto

Astoundingly, one of India’s most backward states – Bihar – has just become a bellwether of sorts: it has given its mandate not only against caste-based politics and goonda raj, but also to the clean image of Nitish Kumar, who is ready to set the ball rolling to root out corruption from the state during his second term as chief minister.

This signals that the eastern state would like to put itself in a growth trajectory (may be in a couple of years), whose benefits it would probably reap within a span of seven years (in case it can put its growth plans on the fast lane).

So, has this mandate revolutionised how the electorate looks at the country’s leaders? If this trend is replicated throughout the country, it could actually pave the way for a corrupt-free polity, which is essential for not just growth but ‘inclusive growth’ in the country (where even the poor reap the benefits of growth).

Nitish’s earlier stint as chief saw him undertake a litany of development projects to obliterate the abject poverty in his state. He rolled out the E-shakti NREGS programme, through which villagers got job intimation via telephone. Crime, which was the root cause of Bihar’s economic standstill, was brought down substantially.

Nitish Kumar’s government also came up with bicycle and free meal schemes, which encouraged girls to leave their homes and attend school, plugging the dropout rates significantly. For the first time, women from backward sections were given 50% reservation in electorates.

His reign saw a phenomenal rise in criminal cases being resolved via fast-track courts. He also brought about transparency in monitoring progress of developmental projects at the grassroots level. There has been a renewed vigour in construction and in jobs, especially in teaching and the police force. Construction activity in Bihar, for the first time in a decade, trumped the national average.

This time around, Nitish and the BJP combine saw a remarkable victory – winning 206 seats in the 243-strong Bihar assembly, a record set in the country’s state coalition politics with even the BJP managing to notch an astounding 91 of the 102 seats it contested.

Bihar’s bigwig Lalu Prasad Yadav had been silenced, bagging just 22 seats, and with wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi losing both her seats, the rout was completed. From here, it seems the chief minister’s chair will be a far cry for Lalu or Rabri.

Another Bihar strongman, Ram Vilas Paswan was also jettisoned out of mainstream politics. And, Rahul Gandhi’s magic just failed to work. Moreover, the back-to back political scandals unfolding in the UPA (recently that of former telecommunications minister A Raja and Suresh Kalmadi) have also dented the Congress party’s prospects in Bihar.

So, what lessons can our political parties learn from Nitish’s landslide victory in Bihar. One of them is that the Indian people are tired of scams and scandals and are looking for clean-image candidates.

The people, especially the youth (including the backward sections) would also like to see themselves grow (not in age but monetarily) along with the country’s growth. And, they see Nitish Kumar as the messiah who will help them grow - can someone replicate it?