Why Bihar voted NDA: Victory of hope and aspiration, favouring tried and tested development model 14/11/20,

14/11/20, 2:57 PM

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Why Bihar voted NDA: Victory of hope and aspiration,

favouring tried and tested development model
November 13, 2020, 6:00 AM IST Ravi Shankar Prasad in TOI Edit Page | Edit Page, India | TOI

After 15 years, the voters of Bihar have chosen to trust the NDA government once again. Jaypore
One can debate about the closeness of the fight. The crucial fact remains that the NDA,
AUTHOR
whose four components are BJP, JD(U), HAM of Jitan Ram Manjhi, and VIP of Mukesh
Sahni, have received an emphatic victory by having a comfortable majority.
Ravi Shankar Prasad

If some of the closely fought assembly constituencies which NDA candidates lost by a The writer is the Union
Minister of Communications
narrow margin had been won, NDA would easily have gotten more than 135 seats. The
and Information Technology.
spoiling nature of Chirag Paswan’s LJP also contributed to the election’s closeness.
Therefore, in spite of all these inhibiting factors the NDA got a clear majority.

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issues did not dominate, rather
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The important state of Bihar has its own heritage of caste, community and at times
communal conflicts too. There is always an assumption that people vote on caste rahul-gandhi featured rbi gst
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Why Bihar voted NDA: Victory of hope and aspiration, favouring tried and tested development model 14/11/20, 2:57 PM

combinations and alignment only. Yet, the NDA won and we need to identify the crucial
featuredet delhi pakistan arun-
factors which made this victory possible. jaitley arvind-kejriwal cricket bjp gdp
congress aap bollywood donald-trump
I have not the slightest doubt that this victory is one of hope and aspirations. If
narendra-modi demonetisation
unemployment was being talked about and other narratives of development being india economy supreme-court Featured ET
projected in the campaign, the people of Bihar also looked into the credentials of those modi us china
who have the ability and capacity to deliver. Bihar is my state and I know it, being an
activist there from my student days. Earlier, during famine or flood, relief was considered RECENTLY JOINED AUTHORS
an entitlement. Therefore, bijali and sadak was the dominant narrative. It goes to the credit
of the extraordinary initiative of the Modi government to improve the infrastructure in
roads and electricity down to the villages, ably assisted by the government of Nitish
Kumar, that people could see a perceptible change.

I remember in my campaign I used to ask the voters how much time it takes to reach Patna
even while campaigning in constituencies close to the Nepal border. The instant public
response was – around four to five hours. Bihar today has two central universities, an
AIIMS at Patna which is doing a commendable job during Covid; another AIIMS is coming
up in Darbhanga; eight medical colleges and nearly five new bridges on river Ganga to be
constructed out of which two have been completed (against only two bridges since
Independence).

Today, Mithila and Koshi areas which got disconnected because of the earthquake of 1934
have received both a road and railway bridge over river Koshi. Patna today has a Chanakya YOU MAY LIKE
Law Institute offering integrated five-year law course, NIFT, IIT and IIM at Bodh Gaya.
Many places in Bihar now have BPOs and Patna has a TCS centre too. These profound and
perceptible changes have aroused hope and trust.

The biggest transformation was the inclusive nature of development. Women in particular
benefitted from the gas cylinder in the Ujjwala scheme. Direct benefit transfer both to
women and other beneficiaries enabled empowerment with regular financial assistance.
Farmers are getting Rs 6,000 every year directly in their bank accounts under PM Kisan, as Feast your eyes on these
well as social security pension under PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana. Additionally, dazzling modern kitchen cabinets
programmes like Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Nitish’s extraordinary initiatives of Houzz

reservation for women in Panchayat and government jobs and other assistance, PM Aawas
Yojana, PM Garib Kalyan Package, toilet in every village and safe drinking water, all of this
created a narrative of new aspirations and hope.

In this election therefore the silent voters be it the women, the underprivileged, the
extremely backward had a clear preference for NDA because of the work of the state
government, the extraordinary assistance of the Centre and most importantly the
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powerful appeal of the PM cutting across caste and community.
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Covid-19 was a fact of life for the entire world. But the Centre’s heroic efforts by giving
free food to nearly eight crore people of Bihar and other support for the migrant workers,
as well as the state government’s role, touched a chord in people’s hearts. We have also
started work to connect all villages in Bihar by optical fibre cable.

Therefore, the narrative was who will deliver more and who will continue the march of
development in Bihar, and in this the ordinary unsung voters of Bihar trusted the NDA with
Nitish as leader in Bihar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the double engine to deliver Festive Shopping on your mind?
actual growth. Credentials of delivery were believed more than hollow promises. We have 1000+ offers
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That, I believe, is the real essence of the Bihar verdict. Yes, people could not forget the
curse of Jungle Raj, the overpowering fear which they have suffered for so many years.
They chose to trust those who are time tested. The people of my state have now become
aspirational as also the young people.

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Why Bihar voted NDA: Victory of hope and aspiration, favouring tried and tested development model 14/11/20, 2:57 PM

In my campaign, when I found a large number of young people recording my speech

through smartphones, I used to ask them how many were on social media and thousands of
hands would go up, even in the remotest parts of the state. This is indeed a new narrative, IIM Calcutta’s 1 Year Online Data
different from holding a lathi during Lalu’s regime. Science Programme
VC NOW
We all are grateful for the extensive campaign by Modi in different parts of the state – his
continued popularity swings the vote effectively. The voters of Bihar have trusted us and it
is our promise that we will deliver.
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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VIEW 20 COMMENTS POST A COMMENT

Jagdip Vaishnav
MGB got defeated mainly because of Congress party

Shanti Anand
It is actually victory of hope and aspiration of polticians and not for people of Bihar.
There is no tried and tested development model since the suga...

Parth Garg
Dreams and fake images of Achhe Din befooled the Bihar voters. 58% of elected
members have a criminal record.

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