DC Edit |As Poll Battle Begins In Bihar, EC Must Play Fair

The decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold the election to the Bihar Assembly in two phases on November 6 and 11 practically ends one part of the exercise, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters list, and the beginning of the second part, the election itself. From the looks of it, the ECI has gone by the opinion of the political parties in the state and limited the number of phases to two. It may be remembered that the election to the state Assembly last time was held in three phases and the 2024 Lok Sabha election was spread over all the seven phases in the state. The ECI may do well to be a little more consistent in its logic about the phases of elections whether it is to the Lok Sabha or the state Assemblies.

The battle lines in the state have been drawn with two fronts made up of parties that can easily be termed strange bed-fellows fighting each other. The NDA is led by the BJP with its declared Hindutva ideology but has Nitish Kumar from the JDU which vouches by socialism and secularism as its chief ministerial candidate.

The alliance also has an assortment of parties representing identity politics that have demonstrated skills to shift loyalties. The opposition Mahagathbandhan is led by the RJD and has allies such as the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). The RJD has its roots in the anti-Congress agitations of the 1970s while the CPI (ML) is an anti-thesis to most of the political positions of its allies. The Jan Suraj Party of activist Prasanth Kishore will test the waters this time around.

Bihar is one state in India with a bright history and a bleak present. Indian history is replete with the contributions the people in the region have made, including in the freedom movement but unfortunately its post-independence leaders failed them. The state has indeed produced visionary leaders including Jayaprakash Narain and nurtured the socialist movement but the people have been denied their fair share in the progress the country has made. That the state finds itself at the bottom of every single index that points to human dignity, whether they are in the fields of education, healthcare, housing or labour conditions. It is not that one election will make a big difference but the question is whether it will be able to produce a leadership which can make a start. The people of Bihar have a right to a leadership that can take it to a bright future.

The ECI has of late become a big factor in the elections. The constitutional institution is mandated to ensure free and fair elections but the practice of late has been that it turns a blind eye to the transgressions of the ruling front.

It was only two weeks ago that the state government handed over Rs 10,000 each to about 75 lakh women in the state under a scheme; the commission found nothing odd about it. It tried its best to be as opaque as possible with respect to the SIR; it was the constant monitoring by the Supreme Court which added some element of transparency and accountability into the whole exercise.

While the political fight will have its own rules, the role the EC plays in the whole exercise will be keenly watched. It is important that the EC acts and is seen to be acting as a fair-minded umpire in the all-important game called election.