India’s poorest state Bihar goes to the polls today, and for many of its 130 million people, one issue overshadows all others: money.
That is what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopes to capitalize on, wooing voters with economic incentives in a bid to win full control.
A BJP victory in Bihar could boost its momentum in opposition-held states, such as neighboring West Bengal, as well as Tamil Nadu in the south, analysts said.
Photo: AFP
“This is the election which will decide whether the BJP can form a government on its own,” said Pushpendra, a political analyst who uses only one name.
A BJP win could “energize” the party elsewhere, he said.
Hindu-majority Bihar, the country’s third most populous state, is a bellwether battleground, but remains the only state in the Hindi-speaking north where Modi’s Hindu nationalist party has never ruled alone.
For housewife Rajkumari Devi, feeding her three children depends on the daily wage her husband earns as a laborer in the Muzaffarpur district.
He takes home about 400 to 500 rupees (US$4.51 to US$5.64) on the days he finds work.
“There have been times when he has not had work for days — so we stretch the little money we have,” the 28-year-old said, outside her modest one-room home overlooking agricultural land. “There is unemployment everywhere.”
Bihar ranks worst in India on poverty indicators, according to the government’s NITI Aayog policy think tank, with a GDP per capita of 52,379 rupees, just ahead of a country such as the Central African Republic.
In September, Modi announced US$8 billion in investment projects, including rail and road upgrades, new agricultural schemes and an airport terminal.
He also unveiled an US$844 million initiative to support female entrepreneurs, offering 7.5 million women cash transfers of 10,000 rupees each.
The BJP, allied with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), faces a stiff challenge from the opposition.
At a rally in the state capital, Patna, on Sunday, Modi urged voters to “bless the NDA.”
The election would be held in two phases, today and Tuesday next week. Results are due on Friday next week.
The BJP’s main rival is an opposition alliance led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress Party.
Former BJP poll strategist Prashant Kishor has launched a party, Jan Suraaj, or “People’s Good Governance.”
Supporters draped him in marigold garlands as he paraded through the crowd.
“You only run or walk after a fall,” said supporter Mudassir, a 25-year-old student who goes by one name. “It’s alright if he doesn’t win big this time.”
Pushpendra said the result will hinge on which party voters believe will help their future, adding that to be “Bihari” has become a byword for “jobless people.”
Vikash Kumar, 30, left Bihar a decade ago seeking work in other states, but still struggles to earn a steady income.
“If companies could be established here, people here wouldn’t die of hunger,” the laborer said. “They will earn money, sit at home, live comfortably and eat their meals.”
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