The Great Bihar election is undoubtedly the event of the year, even the coming Puja festival pales in significance. To ensure that polling in Bihar goes smoothly has always been a challenge for the administration and election Commission alike. In Bhagalpur district, a vast area with a volatile mix of castes and communities, and known to have a sizeable ‘left-leaning’ population, the administration and election officials have identified over 76,000 voters as ‘vulnerable’. They say that nearly four percent of the electorate, may be under possible threat and intimidation by criminals and antisocial elements during the assembly election.

“The problem about this statement,” said one of my friends in the PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties), “is that in recent times, any person with a Marxist or a communist ideology is branded an anti-social or a Maoist sympathiser. Is the administration really talking about common people being intimidated by high caste criminals who are oppressing the poor working classes, or are they actually oppressing the poor working classes, by proposing to lock their vocal leaders up to dissuade people from voting for the left parties? That is the real question. See, Bhagalpur was known as the ‘Lenningrad’ of Bihar, and it is vital for the rightist and capitalist forces to break the Left’s electorate by hook or by crook!”

At a roadside dhaba near a well-known temple in Sasaram, twenty year old Ravi Kumar gets ready for a day of feeding customers. “Here we vote for the symbol decided by our community. We are not going to vote for the lotus, this much I can say, but whether it will be the arrow or the hand or the lantern, this will be decided later. There is a lot of noise being made by the lotus supporters, and they act as though they have already won the election. But in my tola, we will make a collective decision.”

At tea-stall near the Secretariat, Patna they were discussing about Nitish and Nalanda. Some news channels showed a crowd of people waving slippers and shoes at the Chief Minister, obviously an act of grave disrespect. “It’s all for the TV channels. These BJP chaps must have handed out money to a group of locals to do that in front of the TV cameras,” said one. “I don’t think so, many people of Nalanda district are hopping mad because of Nitish shaking hands with Laloo. We can’t understand why he’s doing such a foolish thing? If Nitish-RJD form the government, Laloo will call the shots. Jitan Manjhi was a headache for Nitish, Laloo will be like a brain tumor!”

“Come on, you don’t understand politics, do you?,” said a social worker. “ In the last NDA government, Nitish was the face, but Sushil Modi was the treasurer. Both have profited. They were a good combination. I tell you what will happen. There will be a hung assembly. Nobody will get majority. Even the BJP has its problems. They can’t make Jitan Manhji the Chief Minister, can they? Then just you wait and see, there will be a tussle between Laloo-Nitish. Nitish will break the alliance and join hands with BJP. We will have another Nitish Kumar -Sushil Modi combination!”

A routine press note put out by the Election Department office at Sardar Patel Marg, informs us that they confiscated some 30,365 litres of grog (country liquor as well as the popular, branded up-market stuff) from various shady places in Bihar in a single day. Obviously, they don’t want crafty political parties to sway the electorate, or worse, have electors swaying all the way to the polling booths. Sitting in one of Patna’s popular watering holes, the kind frequented by stressed sales reps, harried husbands, beer swilling college boys showing off their sprouting chest hair and new-learned masculinity, the buzz is whether Nitish Kumar has lost his brains, brawn or both.

“Heard that the fellow has promised some women’s groups that he’ll shut down liquor shops? Do you think he’s serious?”, a harried husband type asks dejectedly. “Naah, how can he , yaar?” says a salesman type, loosening his dirt-streaked striped tie, “Arre Nitish jee wooed all these beer companies to set up shop in Bihar. Do you think that after all the crores they have invested, he’ll kick them out? That would be vishwas-ghat, treachery!” “Look here,” said another, “the fellow may go after country liquor. That will satisfy all those bloody women social workers.” “Look, do you think that Laloojee will let him f**k up his voting public? Be it Yadav, Musahar, or Dhobi, any full-blooded mard (man) with country liquor on his breath will do two things, he will start speaking English and vote for Laloo. All this is nautankee, drama!”

“So, what do you think, about some politicians who want to impose prohibition in Bihar? I ask a first time voter who is on what appears to be his third beer. “On one hand you have Nitish, and on the other Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), an NDA partner saying that prohibition is a major poll agenda”. “Who? What? Why the f**k do they want to screw our happiness? Anyway, vote for NaMo, and hope for digital Patna. Meanwhile drink as much as you can before the elections. After that, these buggers will f**k us up anyway!”, said the articulate twenty-something. Cheers!

  Bihar, elections, Frank Krishner