The announcement of a food processing institute and a Makhana Board for Bihar in the Union Budget is not merely an economic impetus to the state ahead of the Assembly elections later this year but also carries a political message. It is likely to please the Mallah community (fisherfolk and boatmen) that does not have fixed loyalties in the state’s political landscape. Bihar is the largest producer of makhana (fox nuts) in the country, accounting for an estimated 90% of production. The farming and harvesting of makhana is almost entirely done by Mallahs who are also among the most impoverished communities. Much of Makhana farming is done in the riverine belts of North Bihar spanning from Sitamarhi-Madhubani to the Supaul-Kishenganj belts. Mallahs, who account for about 2.6% of Bihar’s population, are concentrated in these riverine belts, bestowing upon them higher electoral influence than their overall numbers would suggest. Any impetus to the makhana industry, which has immense unrealised potential in Bihar, will improve the earnings of Mallah farmers. “The Centre’s announcement is significant,” JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha told The Indian Express. “The demand for makhana is rising internationally and Bihar is the largest producer of the seed in the country. It will not only give much-needed impetus to the makhana industry in Bihar but will also help its farmers who come from the impoverished community of fishermen. Since it is a labour-intensive industry, it will also create jobs for the community.” According to Jha, the announcement has come at the right time. “Lately, a lot of FPOs (farmer producer organisations) have come up in Bihar. The Makhana Board, under the commerce ministry, will help in adding value to makhana produced in Bihar through training, packaging and marketing. It will also help in introducing technology to makhana farming. It will improve the earnings of farmers and the quality of life of these farmers will improve. A food processing institute is also coming up. This will further give impetus to the industry,” said the JD(U) leader. Mallahs have traditionally sided with social justice parties in Bihar since the JP Movement. However, of late, all parties, in successive elections, have reached out to them given that they are also an assertive caste influencing other lower castes that rally behind them. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the BJP gave 11 seats to the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) led by Mukesh Sahani who calls himself a “son of Mallah”. This led to the BJP settling for just 110 seats against the JD(U)’s 115. The VIP went on to win three constituencies but, importantly, managed to transfer its votes to the BJP, helping the party win 74 seats while the JD(U) ended up with 43. The latter was also dented by the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) fielding candidates against it. Sahani’s MLAs, however, defected to the BJP later and the relationship between the two parties soured. Since then, the VIP has been with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as part of the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties. With the Budget announcements related to makhana, the NDA will hope to offset any influence that Sahani continues to exert on his community.
