Bihar poll results show nothing ‘grand’ about Grand Alliance; opposition needs to reinvent itself

NEW DELHI: Bihar poll results show that there is nothing “grand” about the Grand Alliance or Mahagathbandhan. The near-rout of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led front by the JD (U)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) begs of the opposition to re-invent itself before the next year’s assembly elections. It is soul-searching time for Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders.After the completion of several rounds of counting, the grand old party, Congress is staring at one of its worst electoral performances in the state. It was leading only in a few seats out of the 61 seats it contested.While the NDA’s landslide victory is being attributed to its wider caste coalition, the Mahagathbandhan failed to reinvent the social base, although it roped in Mukesh Shani’s Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) and the Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) led by I P Gupta. Though the Opposition was hoping to consolidate its support among various caste groups, particularly the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), with the entry of VIP, it drew a blank in the election. The trends also show that the EBCs, which constitute 36.01 percent of the total population of the state, once again emerged as the cornerstone of the NDA’s victory. The results also showed that the Mahagathbandhan’s gamble to announce the Mallah leader as Deputy Chief Minister did not pay off. Sahani has contested in 12 seats. The IIP also failed to draw votes. Another game changer in the election was the overwhelming support for the NDA among women across caste lines, which can be attributed to the cash transfers and welfare schemes announced by the NDA ahead of the elections. The results also show that Grand Alliance’s focus on unemployment, migration and job creation did not cut ice with the voters.



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