Since the Election Commission (EC)’s current phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories got underway last month, the reports of several deaths and suicides of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) allegedly linked to “excessive workload” or stress attributed to added responsibilities have come from various states, with some of them also reporting BLOs’ protests and the administration’s crackdown on them. The Urdu dailies kept these stories in the spotlight over the week, as the SIR row continued to be among the issues dominating their coverage.
Highlighting Nitish Kumar’s return as the Bihar Chief Minister for a record 10th time on the back of the incumbent NDA’s landslide victory in the Assembly polls, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its November 20 leader, points out that no other CM has been able to achieve this feat in the country
so far. “While it might not have been easy for the BJP to again make way for Nitish to take charge as the CM, it seemed inevitable. For if Nitish had crossed over to the Opposition Mahagathbandhan camp, he would still have retained his position,” the editorial states. However, his 10th chief ministerial stint is going to be different from his previous innings, it says. “Wearing a crown may not be an easy affair for Nitish this time.”
The daily notes that senior BJP leaders, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha, have retained their position as the Deputy CMs (Samrat was allotted the Home portfolio, which Nitish parted with for the first time in two decades). “Nitish’s deputies could be more assertive during this tenure, even as the BJP has emerged as the single largest party. In the case of Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra too, the BJP had initially let him take the helm despite being the senior NDA partner, but later, after the 2024 poll win, his position was downgraded,” it says, adding that Shinde has to now make frequent visits to Delhi to raise his concerns before the BJP leadership.
The edit says the mandate also reflects increased expectations of the Bihar people from the new NDA government. “Nitish would have to fulfil his pledges about creating jobs for youths and taking measures to curb migration from the state. He would have to speed up the pace of Bihar’s development. These are far more daunting challenges than the Rs 10,000 handout given to the state’s women on the eve of the elections,” it says, adding that the 74-year-old JD(U) chief’s task is cut out now.
Underlining that buoyed by its triumph in Bihar, the BJP would double down on its preparations for states headed for elections in 2026, the Bengaluru-based Salar, in its November 22 editorial, writes that of them, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu are the states where the BJP has never been in power. “The BJP has been in power in Assam under the chief ministership of Himanta Biswa Sarma, whose politics is centred on targeting of Muslims,” it states. “Himanta had earlier been with the Congress. After switching to the BJP, he has kept his guns trained on Rahul Gandhi.”
The daily says the BJP is set to use its Bihar template and strategies in the upcoming elections in other states. In Bihar, the constituency of women played a key role in scripting the NDA’s victory, it says. “As part of its plank in Bihar, the BJP whipped up the fear of ‘jungle raj’, claiming that the Lalu Prasad era’s ‘lawlessness’ would return in the event of his RJD’s win. On the same lines, the BJP is going to invoke the spectre of jungle raj against the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in Bengal.”
In Kerala, the LDF government under CM Pinarayi Vijayan has been at the helm for two consecutive terms, which bucked the trend of rotational government in the state, the editorial notes. “The BJP has been trying to expand its footprint in Kerala, but in the 2021 polls, the party had not been able to retain even one seat that it had won in 2016,” it says. In Tamil Nadu, the BJP has allied with the principal Opposition AIADMK to oust the DMK-led alliance from power. “However, they have struck discordant notes. While the BJP has claimed the NDA would form the government, the AIADMK has made it clear that it would form the government in the event of their victory. Their alliance had however come a cropper in 2021,” the edit says. “The BJP is riding high after its Bihar success, but it would be an uphill task for the party to replicate its ‘Bihar model’ in Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.”
Referring to the fresh churn in the Karnataka Congress as the Siddaramaiah government marked two-and-a-half years in office, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its November 22 editorial, points out that several Congress MLAs visited Delhi to meet AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge to apparently seek ministerial berths in the impending Cabinet reshuffle besides lobbying for Deputy CM and state party chief D K Shivakumar’s claim to the CM’s post. “Such attempts in favour of Shivakumar’s bid for the top post have been continuing from the outset, even though Siddaramaiah has maintained that he will complete his five-year tenure,” it says. While Shivakumar’s role in steering the Congress to clinch the Karnataka elections in 2023 could not be underestimated, the Congress leadership has entrusted Siddaramaiah with the CM’s job, the edit says, adding that a hurdle in Shivakumar’s elevation may also be some cases pending against him.
The daily says the power tussle within the Congress may give the BJP a handle to secure a political advantage in the state. “The Congress has been running a stable government in Karnataka on account of its comfortable majority. But the BJP has been planning its comeback,” it says. “The Congress cannot afford to lose power in Karnataka, which fuels its campaign, and ensures its credibility, at the national level. The party is already reeling from the Bihar poll debacle, which has also caused disquiet in the Opposition INDIA bloc,” it states. The Congress leadership should step up to address the Karnataka impasse by taking all groups into confidence and hammer out a solution based on consensus, the edit says. “It is incumbent on the Congress leadership to end the atmosphere of uncertainty prevailing in Karnataka.”
