Governor Buta Singh has averted another political tragedy overtaking the State by preventing the BJP-JD (U) formation from clubbing together a majority with the help of defections, money power and other methods in violation of all democratic and civilized norms. Surprisingly, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee described the vile methods used by his partymen in Bihar as honourable, even though another prominent parivar leader Satrugan Sinha disagreed with him publicly and praised the Governor for preventing democracy from being derailed.

Whether in Bihar or Jharkhand or Goa, hijacking and confining elected legislators and their physical transportation to other states to prevent their establishing contact with the world outside their luxurious resorts, is emerging as a novel feature of Indian democracy. The practice is not only demeaning for elected representatives of the people, but also contrary to accepted democratic norms and a poor reflection on political and personal morality. Actually, the Governor should have dissolved the Bihar Assembly much earlier after Mr Ram Vilas Paswan had refused to change his stand of no support to RJD and before the NDA could take to its familiar game of luring away legislature with office and money.

Criminalization of politics in Bihar has become chronic, with most parties party to it, including those who solicit votes in the name of religion. The spate of kidnappings and murders before the last Bihar Assembly elections appeared to have been engineered in order to pull down the Rabri Devi government. When the election campaign stopped, all these criminal activities stopped too and the situation has remained relatively quitter since, though the Governor has not had sufficient time to stem the rot in the administration and restore the state to health. Every stratagem was used to pull down Lalu and he did emerge bruised from the contest, with his RJD losing power. It is time he owned up responsibility for the UPA’s defeat, though it did not fight the election as an alliance.

The scenario may repeat itself later this year, unless Lalu gives up his high and mighty attitude and agrees to seat sharing on a fair and equitable basis. The defeat has weekend him and the charge sheets filed against him in courts have bruised his ego. He will find the task of soliciting votes alone much more difficult than it was last time if he persists with the disastrous policy of dividing the secular vote in the mistaken belief that he would divide the anti-RJD vote and romp home to victory. His strategy flopped. While the RJD tally fell drastically, the Congress by winning just 10 seats recorded its worst-ever performance. The BJP and JD (U) more or less retained their position, with the latter making some gains. The only gainer was Ram Vilas Paswan whose Lok Janshakti Party improved its tally to 27 seats by taking voters away from both RJD and the Congress. It was an electoral disaster for secular forces which fought among themselves, while the strength of the NDA formation remained more or less intact. The RJD’s separate politics, motivated by sheer greed distorted the entire electoral scene in Bihar.

While Lalu Yadav was uncompromising, Ram Vilas Paswan’s over estimating his strength and reckless bid to capture power as the head of a coalition also brought about a debilitating division in the secular vote. Unless something is done in time, Bihar will continue to witness further fragmentation because of the failure of the political parties and their leaders to reconcile the interests and claims of their respective social constituencies. Like UP, Bihar also has developed a culture of using muscle power and criminal gangs to force a taming of social rivals. The leaders do not seem inclined to learn the new grammar of changing aspirations in the Indian society, which is so fragmented, economically, as well as, socially.

It is interesting to note that Muslims, who constitute a sizeable portion of Bihar’s population and decide the fate of something like 50 Assembly seats, also were confused and divided. In the ordinary course, they would have voted for any anti-BJP combine but, like the rest of the secular vote, theirs also got divided among the anti-BJP parties. Though the gainers were the RJD, JD (U) and LJP, the Muslim voters could not make decisive impact on the electoral scene and did not whole heartedly side with Lalu. Had the Muslims chosen one the parties say Congress, the outcome of the poll would have been quite different. Though a division of the minorities vote is not a new phenomenon, this time it was as deep as the divide in the secular formation which lay devastated.

Mr Paswan’s suggestion at the last moment that a Muslim from the Congress could be made Chief Minister and RJD and LJP would support him, was an unrealistic proposition and did not amuse the Congress, nor comfort the Muslims, who are wooed by all parties, including the BJP which parades its few show pieces to deny the charge that it has deep communal roots, nurtured by the RSS –Bajranj Dal and preachers like Uma Bharti who, incidentally, is being let loose on Bihar to mount a virulent communal campaign against secular forces with no holds barred.

The Congress also should reassess its electoral strategy. Its organizational machinery in the state is so weak that it failed to harness the enthusiasm generated by Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s extensive election tour for electoral gain. Almost all parties have, over a period of time, niibbled away its electoral base among the upper castes, the scheduled castes and the minorities. The formation of purely caste-based parties, segregated Yadavs, Kurmis, Dalits, Rajputs and Brahmins into different formations, reducing the Congress to a skeleton of its earlier being. Unfortunately, the voter is still mired in the caste identity and refuses to sort out his identity problem in an increasingly progressive India that is getting integrated with a globalised economy. Amend these competing caste and communal pulls, the Congress’s base has got vastly eroded and its organization lies in a shambles. Half hearted attempts to rejuvenate the party have not succeeded and its joining the government in Bihar with the RJD has further eroded its credibility.

With its own government in power at the Centre, it failed to mount a massive organizational campaign to stage a revival.

After her-reelection, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has stressed the need for hard work to rebuild the party in states where it is weak. To accomplish that task, she must galvanise a band of dedicated leaders and workers, who will move out of their air conditioned chambers and face the people, braving the heat and the dust, working in the villages to regain voters’ confidence and appreciation for work done. The revival of the Congress is essential for the survival of the UPA Government at the Centre, since the party operates from a small base of 140-plus Lok seats which, unless improved upon, will make it extremely vulnerable at the time of the next parliamentary elections.

But, despite the leadership’s goading and its dedication and hard work, there are no stirrings visible among the rank and file. The enemies of the Congress learnt their better lesson last year but, next time, they are not going to take any chances. Unless the Congress re-builds its base in the major states, such as, UP and Bihar, it can never be sure of forming a stable government at the Centre which will not be subjected to the whims and ideological prejudices of coalition partners.

One, therefore, expects the UPA to function more cohesively and, particularly in Bihar, stand united to prevent a division in the secular and anti-communal vote. The interests of all components of the UPA need to be safeguarded and sufficient pressures brought to bear on Lalu Yadav to show more realism, give up greed, and come to terms with other parties, including Ram Vilas Paswan, who realizes that his mass base is not so strong as to catapult his LJP into power on its own strength. Mr Yadav must bear in mind that converting a political party wedded to the principles of secularism and modernizing the social structure into a permanent family outfit, often leads to unsavoury choices and yields only diminishing political returns. The fall in the vote percentage of the RJD proves this points. Unless an incumbent chief minister is efficient and commands a stature, his tenure cannot be extended year after year through back seat driving.