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JD(U) list reflects Nitish’s social engineering craft and a new voter base
Nitish Kumar has silently created a constituency of women voters over the years with pro-women steps taken by his governments.
Even as different political parties were busy getting their caste configurations right for selection of their nominees, the ruling Janata Dal (United) released the list of 115 seats the party is contesting in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. The list has the stamp of chief minister Nitish Kumar, who in the last 15 years of rule has been known for his social engineering.
The JD (U) list, while attempting to consolidate his extremely backward castes (EBC) support base, has also sought to make a dent into RJD’s Muslim-Yadav combine. In addition to that, in a state where women voters have been outnumbering their male counterparts in the last few elections, more women have found place in its candidates’ list.
The party, while sticking to giving majority representation to its core voters, the extremely backward castes (EBC), has also given a “fair” representation to women, who have been given 22 seats this time against 10 in 2015.
This is approximately 20% of the seats the party is contesting.
The JD (U), despite being with the BJP, has also sent a message to the minority community that it will continue to protect their interests despite its realignment with the BJP.
Kumar’s party has given 11 tickets to Muslims. This figure of close to 10 per cent is less than commensurate with the Muslim population which is more than 15 per cent in Bihar. The list includes two Muslim women as well.
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A senior JD (U) leader said both EBCs and women constitute the party’s core constituency as the Nitish Kumar government had reserved 35% seats for women in the state jobs. “No other CM has done as much for the women as Nitish has,” claimed a JD (U) functionary.
Beyond the caste and communal politics in Bihar, Nitish Kumar has also silently gone about nurturing women as potential voters.
Nearly half of more than three lakh contract teachers appointed in Bihar are women. In 2006, Nitish’s government ensured 50 per cent reservation for women in the three-tier panchayati raj bodies. Also, 35% of posts in the police force are reserved for women.
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What has surprised party leaders as well is the representation to 19 Yadavs, numerically the largest caste group in Bihar, who have, by and large, stood rock solid behind the RJD.
With 18 Yadav and 11 Muslim nominees, the JD(U) also seems to have sought to make a dent into the RJDs famed MY combination, the bedrock of the party’s support base.
The JD(U) has, despite its alliance with the BJP, succeeded in winning over a section of Muslims with measures like reservations to the Pasmanda group, scholarships to students from the minority community, including those receiving their education at madrasas. The community has been restive over JD(U)’s equivocal stance on the CAA. While Nitish’s party voted for the act in the Parliament, the chief minister got the BJP to back a resolution passed unanimously by the assembly opposing the proposed NRC.
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The candidature of 12 Kurmis and 15 Kushwahas, was on expected lines, as they have been the political comrades in arms for JD (U).
The party has gone to appease the Dalits by giving 17 tickets to the Scheduled Castes, and the party hopes to offset any Dalit backlash caused by the rebellion of Chirag Paswan’s LJP with the help of Manjhi.
And in a bid to reach out to the upper castes, the JD (U) has given tickets to 19 candidates from the section, seven of whom are Rajputs. The party has sent a strong signal to Rajputs by standing behind late Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in his “hour of crisis” and inducted his son Satya Prakash in the party. The party has also fielded 10 Bhumihars.
Contrary to this, the BJP going by its image has given tickets mostly to forward castes. BJP would be contesting on 110 seats. “Having aligned with the JD (U), the party is resting sure that EBC votes will be transferred to the BJP as well while the same cannot be said about the upper caste votes of the BJP,” said a BJP functionary.
