Vox pop

Nitish Kumar's landslide victory (Nitish landslide buries Lalu, Cong, November 25) shatters quite a few myths. That Bihar votes strictly on caste lines and is not concerned with development has been proved wrong.

Nitish Kumar's victory dispels popular myths about Bihar
Nitish Kumar's landslide victory (Nitish landslide buries Lalu, Cong, November 25) shatters quite a few myths. That Bihar votes strictly on caste lines and is not concerned with development has been proved wrong. It also shows that despite the presence of Maoists and bahubalis, peaceful elections are possible in Bihar. Also, you don't need to be the relative of a leader to get elected. Importantly, the voters did not pay any heed to Rahul Gandhi, Tejaswi Yadav or Chirag Paswan which shows that dynasty has lost its charm.
Krishna Balraj Sahay, Kodarma

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Nitish Kumar has proven that personal honesty, combined with an emphasis on all-round development, can defeat caste and religious considerations in an election. There is a lesson here for all political parties, who should abandon their fixation with vote banks, and engage in clean governance to usher in a new era in Indian politics. That Rahul Gandhi's charm did not translate into votes shows that the electorate has matured.
HR Bapu Satyanarayana, Anand

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It is too simplistic to suggest that Nitish Kumar's success is because of his emphasis on development. To an extent, the electorate has also been influenced by controversies arising from several scams by the UPA government at the Centre. The Biharis, long reviled as backward, have proved to be more enlightened than others.
D.R.Gulati, via email

Chavan's test by fire
Praful Bidwai has rightly said that (Little to build on, November 24) cleansing Maharashtra's politics will not be easy for chief minister Prithviraj Chavan who will have to learn to tackle Mumbai's ruling crony capitalism.
Mohammad Ashyam, via email