Bihar polls: Away from broader poll rhetoric, caste comes first in Mithilanchal

“They have been in jail for years. One of them was even killed in jail,” said Amresh Kumar. “Bha-Ja-Pa ki majboori hai. This election is becoming like the 1990 election and the only way to change it is to unite Hindus across castes. That is what they are trying.”

Nitish Kumar with the RJD’s Faraz Fatmi Tuesday. Son of former MP M A Fatmi, Faraz is contesting from Keoti, where he lost by 29 votes in 2010. (Source: Express Photo by Prashant Ravi)

At Barsamela village, Arshad Ahmad’s reading is that attempts to divide voters along communal lines haven’t worked. “Our relations are very strong here and I don’t think people will respond to that effort,” he said. “Last time, RJD candidate Faraz Fatmi lost by 29 votes and the JD(U) was then with the BJP. This time Fatmi is in a good position.”

Fatmi faces the BJP’s Ashok Yadav. Another local Yadav leader, former MLC Misri Lal Yadav, has deserted the RJD and joined the BJP, which has fielded him in neighbouring Ali Nagar. This has led to various shifts of allegiance. While many Yadav voters are behind the BJP candidate, many Brahmins with an old grouse against Misri Lal have been talking about voting for Fatmi.

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Far from the larger discourse of parties, what seems to matter for each candidate is how well he fits into the caste equations and his/her image with locals. For example, the maha gathbandhan seems to have given itself an edge in Harsidih with its choice of Rajendra Kumar, of the Ram caste. The battle here in 2010 was between two Paswans, which divided that vote while the Ram vote consolidated behind the BJP’s Krishna Nandan Paswan, who won. This time, the RJD has dropped its previous candidate, Satish Paswan, although he is well-known here. The BJP has renominated its candidate, who faces anti-incumbency.

The contest in Madhubani Town has many twists. Of its 12 candidates, two are Muslim – Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya Mitra Party – and three Brahmins, all independents. The fight is between the RJD’s Sameer Mahaseth and the BJP’s Ramdeo Mahato, sitting MLA since 2000. The SP has fielded an RJD rebel, Naiyar Azam, who lost by 500-odd votes to Mahato last time.

Why did the maha gathbandan drop such a strong challenger, especially when there is a substantial Muslim population? With voters in Madhubani Town traditionally backing the BJP, the gath bandhan wanted to divide the vote of the business community.

Sameer’s father, R K Mahaseth, now 84, had won the election from here several times since 1968 and was a minister in the RJD government before he left the party 10 years ago. He explained: “Azam is a very close friend. He comes from among forward Muslims and the Ansari biradari didn’t let him become MLA; that’s how he lost by 500 votes last time. Laluji had a lot of faith in him but told him that he has only 100 tickets, and that he wants vidhayaks and not faces. He reached the conclusion that Sameer is a winnable candidate.”

The Mahaseths belong to the Suri caste and the family has influence in the town. “We have a very good reputation in the market here, votes that would otherwise go to the BJP,” the senior Mahasheth said. He said the BJP MLA did “nothing to develop the town”.

Anti-incumbency was indeed visible. At Subhash Chowk, youths Shiv Shankar Mahato, who manages a petrol pump, and Bablu Thakur, who works as a driver and is a Brahmin, both hoped Mahaseth will win “because the BJP candidate didn’t even step out of the car”. “The BJP shouldn’t have repeated Mahato,” said Thakur, otherwise a BJP fan. He felt Muslims wouldn’t go with Azam.

Mahato, for his part, is confident about caste combinations in his favour. “Neither the Paswan nor the Manjhi vote will go with the RJD. That is with us,” he said. “The Brahmin vote will come to us. In 2014, the BJP led by 8,500 votes from this segment.”

He predicted a division of the maha gathbandhan vote. “There are around 70,000 Muslim votesand thankfully Naiyar Azam sahib will cut into at least 10 per cent of it, which will help us. It is true that some Suri votes will go to the RJD because of Mahaseth, but it will be limited to 3,000-4,000 from a total 15,000… I feel I will win comfortably.”

He agreed there is anti-incumbency against him. “It is natural that some people would feel let down because I have been the legislator for 15 years But then I don’t have any scandal against me,” he said. “Modiji is a big factor; that will work wonders for me.”

At a tea stall, around 15 people were chatting about the elections. Narendra Kumar Mishra said Modi would remain the PM for 20 years. “India will become a Hindu Rashtra. This is a Hindu country and we needn’t be apologetic about it.” He said Muslims should have nominated members in the assembly but shouldn’t be allowed to vote. “The nominated members can raise their issues.”

Chanchal Kumar of the Halwayi caste said he wouldn’t go with the BJP — “They are promoting discontent for short-term benefits.” And Raj Kumar Mandav, of an EBC caste, said, “We are for Nitish. My three daughters go to school because they get food and clothes.”