Anger at afsarshahi hits Nitish

The resentment is pronounced among the BJP’s traditional upper caste support base,which accuses Nitish of a “selective development model that reaches out to favoured caste groups”. Both upper caste voters and OBC Yadavs complain that benefits like school uniform and bicycle schemes,and approach roads to villages,have reached only certain sections.

On the question of a break between the JD(U) and BJP,Brahmin-dominated Rataitha village under Jamalpur assembly segment (Munger) produced classic upper-caste reactions.

“In case of a split,the BJP will be our clear choice under Modi. Upper castes are in any case marginalized under this government. What happened to the upper caste commission set up by Nitish? Where are its recommendations?” said villager Ramayan Pathak.

The narrative of upper caste victimhood imagines itself as a ‘minority’ bigger than Muslims. Popular reactions in Brahmin villages suggest that Nitish’s political signalling in cancelling his Adhikar Yatra to Ara following the killing of Barmeshwar Mukhiya,chief of the disbanded Ranbir Sena,did not go down well with the people.

The Indian Express found ample evidence of simmering public resentment in eight Lok Sabha constituencies — Munger,Nawada,Nalanda,Muzaffarpur,Sitamarhi,Sheohar,Darbhanga and Madhubani — that it visited this week.

Even JD(U) workers and sympathisers have begun to express frustration over alleged corruption and afsarshahi,and of being ignored by the administration. Local JD(U) workers and leaders complain of being unable to get much done for supporters,and fear losing steam by the time the elections come around.

The scrapping of the MLA LAD fund has reduced MLAs to playing only a supervisory role,while the officers and engineers controlled by the engineer-in-chief,the nodal authority for the replacement CM Local Area Development Scheme,have emerged stronger.

Said a JD(U) district president,“Abhi thodi zyada hi afsarshahi ho gayi hai. Hum agar kisi ki pairvi lekar jaate hain toh pehle to inkaar kar deta hai adhikari,aur agar fir se kehte hain toh Patna message karwaa deta hai ki hum log extortion ke liye dabaav bana rahe hain. (The officers are getting a little too aggressive. If we go with a request,they refuse; if we insist,they send a message to Patna that they are facing extortion.)”

The JD(U) leader said that unless officialdom is reined in,party workers could lose motivation. The BJP’s Sikti MLA,Anandi Prasad Yadav,who recently faced accusations of extortion,alleged that an attempt to monitor even a government scheme could now attract allegations.

“An overdose of officialdom in administration is bringing disrepute to Nitish’s good work,” JD(U) leader and Sheohar Zilla Parishad chairman Mrityunjay Singh said in an oblique admission of the frustration in his party ranks.

The JD(U)’s EBC support base too complains of the seemingly all-powerful afsarshahi.

“The EBC have got respect during Nitish’s regime,they have also become village heads now and have got quota in teachers’ appointments. But they want more. Pradhanji ko kuchh kaam karne ko ab chahiye,so toh ab adkhikariyon ke jimme hai. Uper se corruption bhi hai (Pradhanji would like to do some real work,but that is with the officials. On top of that,there is corruption),” said Mahendra Sah of Sarisab village in Madhubani constituency.

Imtiaz,a relative of the head of the Sakari village panchayat,alleged corruption in the release of funds for NREGA works across Madhubani district.

“Pehle to panchayat samitiyon ko kaam dene ke bajaaye contractors ko kaam de diya gaya hai. Doosra,panchayaton ke paas sirf NREGA ka kaam hai,toh usme hum log kam karwaate hain aur fir hafton adhikariyon ke chakkar lagaate hain payment release karaane ke liye. Isme bhrastachar badhta hai,(Contractors have got all the work. Panchayat samitis only have NREGA,but we have to chase officials for weeks to get payments released. This leads to corruption),” Imtiaz said.

The resentment may weigh on the JD(U) leadership as it bargains with the BJP,especially as the grievances seem to be targeting Nitish directly. The chief minister’s “dictatorial” style has been the focus of public ire during the protests against salaries to contract teachers and the sale of country liquor in villages.

“How could the chief minister demean protesting teachers by saying they would get no raises or be elevated to government teachers? It was the arrogance of his huge majority in the assembly,” said Pappu Singh of Bhumihar-dominated Dhawdha village under Warsaliganj assembly segment of Nawada.

BJP workers clamouring for Narendra Modi see a “golden opportunity” in the circumstances. “Nitish’s current term is not as successful as the last one. There is popular disgruntlement. We are now in a position to dictate terms,” said BJP’s Muzaffarpur district president Arvind Singh.

There is also the Lalu factor.

“Not only is Lalu attracting good crowds in his parivartan yatra (which started last June),the RJD has substantially improved its vote share in the bypolls,” said a JD(U) legislator belonging to the EBC communitiy,apparently acknowledging that the resentment against Nitish was adding to Lalu’s muscle.

JD(U) leaders remain uneasy that despite having been decimated in the last assembly elections,the RJD and LJP together got over 76 lakh votes compared to the NDA’s 1.13 crore — suggesting that a swing of only 2-3 per cent in a three-corner contest could see Lalu bouncing back.