E-Paper
Attacks on PM Modi, BJP to form Congress poll strategy in Bihar
Congress plans to target Modi and BJP in Bihar elections while keeping options open for JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, focusing on governance issues.
The Congress is planning to centre its Bihar election strategy on targeted attacks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), people familiar with the matter said, with some hinting that the party wants to “keep our doors open” for its former ally and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar.
At a press conference in Patna last week, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had described the Bihar government as a “remote-controlled” one, asserting that decision-making is dictated from New Delhi.
In the scathing 42-page “charge sheet” titled “20-Saal, Vinash Kaal” against the Kumar-led NDA government, the Congress accused the Bihar chief minister of breaking promises, even as the attacks were more directed towards the BJP and the central government. It questioned the governance issues in Bihar but branded the government as the “BJP-led government” or as the “NDA government”, not to single out Kumar.
Two senior Congress leaders told HT that the party will take a calibrated approach in the run up to the polls vis-à-vis its campaign against Kumar and the BJP, and it will treat Kumar’s JD(U) and Modi-led BJP as separate entities.
A Congress leader who has spent the past eight months touring Bihar said there are two key factors driving this strategy. “We have to keep our doors open for Kumar in the eventuality of a hung assembly,” he said.
It has also been observed in the Congress’s initial ground reports that CM Kumar faces little incumbency even as he spent more than 18 years in the top post.
“Our initial ground surveys show that Kumar is not suffering from a huge anti-incumbency. Yes, there are major issues in Bihar such as lack of jobs and private investments, and we will focus on core issues in Bihar,” said the Congress leader.
Kumar, a Kurmi by caste, first became chief minister of Bihar on March 3, 2000, but resigned on March 10, 2000, because he could not secure a majority before the floor test. His next full term began in November 2005, following which he served continuously through election wins in 2010 until May 2014. After a short spell of Jitan Ram Manjhi as the CM, Kumar returned to the CM seat in February 2015.
In his 20 years in power, women have remained central to his governance –– from 50% reservation for women in panchayati raj bodies (announced in 2006) to declaring prohibition in 2015, many of his policies were aimed at them.
While the RJD is expected to launch a frontal attack on Kumar over the government’s non- performance due to its regional and political compulsions, the Congress may take a wider view and continue its attack against the BJP -- its main rival in national politics.
