India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party has conceded defeat in the key state election in Bihar, in what is being seen as a major blow for the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Nitish Kumar, the incoming chief minister, said on Twitter on Sunday that Modi had called him and congratulated him on his party’s victory in Bihar, one of India’s largest and poorest states. Election Commission results showed Modi’s BJP leading in only 52 seats in the 243-seat state assembly compared to 158 for Kumar’s coalition of regional parties, as vote counting continues. Modi had mounted a no-holds-barred campaign in Bihar, addressing about 30 rallies and promising voters billions of rupees for development in a state with some of India’s highest malnutrition and illiteracy levels. The election for the state assembly was seen as a critical test of Modi’s popularity after he swept to power in national polls in May 2014, promising ambitious reforms to revive the faltering economy. The election in Bihar would always have been a tough contest as the BJP had put up a challenge to Bihar’s popular chief minister Nitish Kumar. After a convincing victory in last year’s national elections, Modi had himself led the election campaign in Bihar, touting the economic programme of the BJP. The defeat in Bihar sets the stage for the next four years of campaigning, with anti-BJP alliance politics – as tried out in Bihar – likely to become a key strategy for opposition parties looking to dislodge it. Modi himself had played the religious card once again in the Bihar election despite being perceived to have overcome caste, class, religious and regional division during last year’s election victory. The victory had put an aura of invincibility around Modi which has been shattered in Bihar. The BJP loss comes as it faces a series of state elections in the next two years which are likely to shape the face of things to come. The fact that Modi led the campaign in Bihar, the loss will be considered a personal defeat for the prime minister. The election result in Bihar is a timely reminder for the BJP that fueling the politics of hate is not a strategy that will work in the long term.
pk.shafaqna.com
