FIXING BIHAR: PART I

 

New Delhi, November 24:

It took Bihar 15 long years to decide that handing the reigns of governance to Laloo Prasad Yadav was one of the biggest mistakes made by it since Independence. His trademark divisive politics, in that time, tore Bihar apart on caste, clan and religious lines, besides junking the economy.  
 
If Nitish, as Chief Minister, is to pull off the kind of political longevity that marked Laloo, then he will have to virtually pull a rabbit out of his hat. And shackling his hands will be not only the Laloo legacy but also his having to chalk a new route for Bihar. A mission impossible?

Over the years the only one who gained from the process of annihilation of all institutions of state in Bihar seemed to be Laloo himself and his relatives. This was evident even in the first years of his rule as he gave unbridled power to his henchmen to promote parochial interests.

Then what prompted the people to vote for him in every election?

 

Capturing booths would have accounted for so much, it could never have meant the difference between win and loss (otherwise the Election Commission would have received the boot a long time ago). His rustic charm could have got him a few votes no doubt. Parties like the Congress, when they could not beat him, aligned with him thereby helping themselves to commit suicide to put Laloo on the throne (from rulers, today Congressmen figure nowhere on the who's who of power wielders in Bihar). Some votes indubitably came from a comprehensive usage of threats and violence against his opponents as well as the voters. But most of his support came from a policy of divide and rule whereby he openly espoused the cause of the Muslims and Yadavs to win votes, to the cost of the rest of the communities, and the profit of Laloo.

None of these were new to Bihar. These ploys had been used before, they are still current in India's politics to win and retain power in every state.

What Laloo did better than anyone else was use these tactics (more applicable to a war-like situation) better. He marshaled his resources like a modern day Napoleon, or is it Nero, before they imploded on him on Tuesday, November 22, 2005.

Bizarre it may be but, no one thought of stopping him. No one knew how. Bihar was too far east from Delhi and too far west from West Bengal. And, on his side was a weak national politics that encouraged regionalism. The previous ruling party, the Congress was too busy fighting on other fronts to retain its identity to be able to fight back Laloo. It had no charismatic leaders (Rahul was studying abroad or else otherwise occupied by his Latino girlfriend, Priyanka was busy being a housewife and Laloo was burnishing his stature by jailing L K Advani charging on his Rath Yatra).

Ergo, Prime Ministers came and went, Laloo remained.

However, all of these tactics, the very creation of Laloo, came together in the end to successfully dethrone him from power.

Why? There was just so much money that Laloo could throw at his supporters. After all Bihar was a basket case economy. Money was not being generated, jobs were not being created, industries were not being allowed to function. It meant the existence of a dwarf economy and a midget can hardly get you the crores that you need to win elections. No new jobs were being generated, roads, electricity, even water came at a premium. In other words, in 15 years most of his supporters were no better off as the economy was dying.

There simply was not enough money to go to every one of Laloo's supporters. They abandoned him in droves as it became clear that Laloo could not enrich them. Even Muslims and Yadavs, the backbone of his party, defected to Nitish and BJP. The Most Backward Castes (32% of populace) had already shown Laloo the door as they remained as poor as they were a decade back.

And, worse, Laloo stayed and stayed in power.

If Laloo could not be ejected from there, the enlightened Bihari voted with his feet, he walked out of his home and hearth to any and all parts of the country. In fact, for a Bihari any place was better than Bihar to earn a honest buck.

The surprising thing is that it took so many years for Laloo's political and economic machinations to drive Bihar to realise he was chasing it into penury.

His vote bank gave Laloo 15 years and when he could not deliver, they dropped him like a hot potato.

 

The Nitish Story

Where does Nitish go from the no-man's Laloo-land Bihar?

The wily Chief Minister has said good governance will be his top priority. Does that mean he will unleash the cops against lawlessness? Does it mean he will empower the bureaucrats? Will it be a babu raj? Will his party JD(U) force the state into their version of Laloo's Bihar?

Flashback to 2004. Sonia Gandhi won the general elections and made Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India. The best thing that happened to India was that Sonia did not become the PM. Not because she was a foreigner. But, for the reason of not having any idea how to rule India, or what the country needed. In other words she knew virtually nothing on how to effect progress in India. To her credit, Manmohan did.

But what of our Nitish. Is he a good administrator? Does he know how to grow Bihar economically?

He was the Railway Minister in the BJP-led Atal Behari Vajpayee administration. Did it empower him enough to put, in his words, Bihar 'back on its tracks'?

A lesson in Manmohanomics is a must, if Nitish is to get a passing grade in 5 years' time.

Prime Minister did not announce a witchhunt against corruption (let the IT department play cops 'n robbers with 'em). He did not put the screws on any babu to behave, or else. Indira Gandhi did that, Rajiv did it, V P Singh did that, but to hardly any avail. Charan Singh let it all pass (water under the bridge), Deve Gowda slept through it, I K Gujral exhausted himself in being a nice guy. Vajpayee borrowed a leaf out of PM Rao's book and forwarded the policies of Manmohan Part I (1991 and 1996).

Manmohan, on the other hand, did nothing of what his legendary, if not illustrious, predecessors did. He did not look back, only forward. He vaulted over it all, going beyond the past to script policies that grabbed the economy by the scruff of its neck and carried it kicking and screaming into the future (with the people of India smiling ear to ear).

But where is Nitish to get a Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram or even a Montek Singh

Ahluwalia? As with these gentlemen, Nitish has merely to look, he will find them. India, and Bihar, is full of good, honest and most of all intelligent people.

But before he anoints them as rulers, he will have to empower them. And that means giving up his own authority and privilege, command and control. His hegemony in Bihar will have to be watered down for Bihar's sake. He alone can do that.

If that happens Bihar will get the better of Punjab and Gujarat even.

Currently (2003-04), Bihar's per capita income is Rs 3,707. Net State Domestic Product is Rs 32,347 crore and growing at 5.3%. Population in poverty numbers above 40%.

If Nitish Kumar is to emerge a champion in half-a-decade then they will first have to ensure that the common Bihari becomes a winner. And that means growing the economy.

Manmohan Singh has put money in India's pockets and said go spend. Nitish will have to get cracking to do the same for the penniless Bihar. It is time, but comes the hour, cometh the man?