https://thewire.in/politics/bihar-emerges-as-a-template-to-counter-hindutva-narrative
Bihar is not among the five states that will elect new assemblies in November, but it has emerged as a template to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s politics of polarisation.
First, chief minister Nitish Kumar was the anchor for the 28 parties that are part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Then, his government released the caste survey report which showed the numerical preponderance of the other backward classes (OBCs) that the Congress has adopted as its main plank against the BJP in the states headed to an assembly election.
Now, the Bihar government is scheduled to showcase its success in providing jobs at an event in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on November 2. Nitish, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar and other ministers will give appointment letters to 1.2 lakh teachers recruited through the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC)’s examinations. This comes in the background of Prime Minister Narendra Modi failing miserably on his promise to generate 1.5 crore jobs every year before his election in 2014.
Bihar has offered a politically befitting narrative, based on solid performance and groundwork, to counter Hindutva in the election-bound states. For the first time since Narendra Modi ascended to power in 2014, the BJP is struggling to counter the strategy that Nitish Kumar has built with the backing of Lalu, Tejashwi, and allies like the Congress and Left parties.