Cm of Bihar

Nobody has grip on Bihar's politics like Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad do. The two have rewritten electoral contests in the state in their own ways.

Is there another mass leader in Bihar? If I stand in a street corner and give the word, the state will come to a standstill." Of course, at the root of Lalu's success in manipulative politics is his control over the government machinery. With the Congress wooing a section of the upper castes in areas where it had strong candidates, it was the division of the anti-Lalu vote that gave the RJD its much-needed edge in many constituencies. It is no exaggeration to say that Bihar is by far the most caste-ridden state in India. Caste not only determines social relationship, it is the principal thrust of political mobilisation. To his fans, Lalu is the proverbial good man burdened by an insensitive administration and a party of rogues. For Lalu, empowerment is not an instrument of social mobility - a search for a better, just and equitable life. In a cliff-hanger battle for numbers, Nitish won the first round, courtesy the Congress' calculated delay in extending support to Lalu. Yet, in putting a big question mark on the propriety of the NDA's claim, Lalu has ensured he is still very much in the race. In an age when good governance is the international mantra, Lalu is an oddity. To his supporters, a conspiracy denied Lalu the fruits of a legitimate victory. In just a decade, Lalu has rewritten the rules of politics in Bihar. Unlike the CPI(M) that has ruled West Bengal since 1977, Lalu has neither any tangible achievements nor the organisational rigour to back his claim for political supremacy. No wonder, said a BUSINESS TODAY-Gallup survey in December 1999, Bihar is clearly the worst state for investment. In India's cities, the plethora of competing brands jostle with the new dotcoms and computer training programmes for mindspace.