The result of the Kurhani bypoll has come as an eye-opener for Bihar’s ruling dispensation, sending a big message to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav that they cannot take the mood of voters for granted.
The BJP, which is the sole opposition party in the state managed to win two seats of Gopalganj and Kurhani after its separation from Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United.
During the bypolls to Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur, the NDA government was in power then and the JD-U managed to win both seats, implying that it was gaining when it was with BJP. When the Bochahan bypoll came, the RJD managed to win the election with a big margin of over 36,000 votes.
After the Mahagathbandhan government came in power, the RJD lost the Gopalganj bypoll while Mokama seat was won not because of the party but due to the individual. Anant Singh, the Bahubali leader is influential in Mokama and hence his wife Neelam Devi managed to win the bypoll – but with a lesser vote share than him in the 2015 and 2020 polls.
The BJP, after the separation from JD-U, has managed to win two bypolls of Gopalganj and Kurhani, indicating that it is gaining ground in Bihar.
Political analysts of Bihar feel that Nitish Kumar is losing his relevancy in the politics of Bihar in a big way due to his ‘Paltimar’ nature, rising crime graph, policies like liquor ban, the high inflation rate, the registry of lands being most expensive in Bihar then other states, officialdom and massive corruption in various departments.
Due to the liquor ban, the prices of petrol and diesel are almost Rs 10 higher than other states. Hence, the prices of commodities and essential goods are also high. The power tariff in Bihar is also higher than other states.
The voters also have an impression that the Bihar government is claiming to give jobs but majority of the beneficiaris are those who are close supporters of ruling parties. These things have a big impact on the sentiments of voters.
