Letters: Lessons from Bihar

With reference to the editorial, "Uniting in opposition" (November 9), the most important lesson from the Bihar Assembly election results is that no political leader or party can take the people for granted. People who voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections seem to have voted against it in the Bihar polls. Therein lies the beauty of a democracy.

The masses may be impoverished and illiterate, but at the right moment they show politicians who's the boss - a hopeful sign that India will continue to be a democracy.

The Bihar verdict conveys a few home truths to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. The fact that Modi's appeal for votes went unheeded indicates a diminution in his political standing. By stopping the Modi juggernaut, the people of Bihar have prevented a slide into civil strife and chaos.

From the nature of the results, it is clear that the religious card played by the BJP for polarising voters not only yielded no returns but also united the lower castes in favour of the Grand Alliance espousing social cohesion and social justice. BJP President Amit Shah's invocations of virulent nationalism to reap an electoral harvest struck no chord with the voters.

Considering the growing disillusionment with the present government, the Bihar outcome is likely to reverberate in national politics and bring about political realignments to take on the Hindu right.

G David Milton Maruthancode

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