Daya Sagar
One clear message from Bihar Elections 2002 is that India still inherits common human instincts even after nearly six decades of having remained in an environment wherein the political anchors had made the common masses belonging to classes labelled by the British as depressed classes ( particularly from amongst the Hindu only) believing more only in the leaders who belonged to their own caste/ class in spite of the fact that in 1949 when the Constitution of India was finally drafted and accepted for including the provisions there in for ending the un- pious custom of untouchability and so particularly creating special constitutional provisions ( even at places overriding the fundamental rights of others ) for educationally and socially backward citizens of India of whom the first classes / sections / castes were picked up in 1950 from the list of depressed classes drawn during British rule by the British the then leadership at the helm of affairs more comprised of those who belong to so called “upper castes” since those who had been so far politically surviving only on upper caste / lower caste game plans or playing divisive politics in the name of secularism have been founding losing political grounds. To be brief BJP has won 67% of the seats contested ( 74 out of 110)where as BSP, JD (U), SP,RJD and even LJSP ( that has always played caste politics to the extent of even laying indirect doubts on the truthfulness of highest chambers of justice by demanding reservations even in higher judiciary) have not been able to cut as much with their divisive tools during 2020 Bihar elections.
Some may still ask in case the image of BJP has become fairer in the eyes of masses of all shades and classes how has it been so that AIMMI (Asaduddin Owaisi as President /Leader), a party with base in Telangana, that has only 7 MLA in 119 member Telangana Assembly could win 5 MLA seats out of only 24 contested in Bihar State where BJP all India leaders ‘claim’ enjoying largest of the large faith of the local people worth increasing the Party tally by 21 seat to 74 even when Natish Kumar’s JDU’s score dipped by 28 seats to only 43 and even RJD score dipped to 75 from 80? Ofcourse all is not yet totally fair and clean but rays of fair times have surely emerged where one could see weakening upper caste- lower caste politics / Brahmin-Thakur versus Dalit game players and with awareness growing religious minority versus religious majority trust deficit generators too will be losing logical grounds.
In 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) CPI(M-L) L secured 13,22,143 votes (3.14 %) and won 12 MLA seats out of 19 contested whereas Lok Janshakti Party secured 23, 83457 votes (5.66%) but got only 1 seat out of 134 contested. BJP went up by 21 and JDU went down by 28. Chirag Paswan LJSP fielded candidates on almost all seats where JDU ( NDA partner Nitish Kumar present Chief Minister and next CM candidate of NDA ) contested and NDA partner BJP did not say much against LJSP where as JDU did speak a lot against Congress. Rashtriya Lok Samta Party of Upendra Kushwaha though secured 7,44,221 votes (1,77%) but won 0 seat out of 104 contested. Surely going by the data produced here some may ask why did LJSP contest 134 seats ( mostly against Nitish Kumar JDU ) when BJP disowned Chirag Paswan for Bihar assembly elections who totally rejected NDA candidate for CM Nistish Kumar but Chirag called his self as Hanuman of Modi and why did Upendra Kushwaha RLSP contests 104 seats? To such questions simple answer could be that elections are not always contested for ‘winning’ and everybody cannot play Election ‘matches’ since they are not always strategized the way an apparently truthful wisdom may do. But one thing surely need be addressed, rising above all personal likings/ dislikings, and that is no political games should be played by the Leadership of a Party with it’s own cadres as well as vote bank.
7,06,252 (1.68%) voters have casted their option for NOTA ( None Of The Above ) where as All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party which has contested in Seemanchal Region of Bihar has polled only 5,23,279 votes (1.24%) but won 5 MLA seats out of 24 contested ( AIMIM a regional political party based in the Telangana, with its head office in Hyderabad founded by Nawab Mahmood Nawaz Khan). There could be cases where a candidate wins by a few hundred votes and had the NOTA voted for other candidate the result would have been different. NOTA button on the EVMs gives a choice to a voter citizen for not casting his vote for any of the contesting candidates declaring that none of the contesting candidates is of the choice of the ‘Voter’ or is not deemed fit to be elected in one’s opinion. But, to be brief , In the present system of schemes The NOTA vote does not hold any electoral value, even if a majority of votes are cast for NOTA in a constituency and still the candidate with the largest vote share would be declared the winner although a large number had rejected the one .Question could be should such system be continued ?
Earlier also suggestions have been made before 2013 and after 2013 for replacing NOTA with NTC ( a negative vote– Not this Candidate ) or redefining the impact of NOTA but with the present NDA in place it could be hoped that some correction would be applied in the common man interest since presently NOTA has no vote value.
(Daya Sagar Sr Journalist / Analyst Jammu &
Kashmir Affairs dayasagr45@yahoo.com)