Victory for the Grand Alliance in Bihar is a victory of love over hatred, of tolerance over intolerance, of secularism over growing communalism. The real credit for this decisive victory goes to the patience and far-sighted leadership of Nitish Kumar. He has once again proved his political acumen and shown that true leadership involves not dividing people on sectarian grounds but uniting them on common ideals of peace and prosperity despite having differences and diversities. However, the real test, for both Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad, lies ahead. They, along with the Congress, have to understand that people have voted for them with great hope. They have to fulfil the aspirations of a large section of the young population that seeks better infrastructure, education and employment.
Manzar Imam,
Purnea
The Bihar election results have once again proved that regional heroes have an upper-hand over national figures when it comes to State elections. It is the second-consecutive debacle for the BJP after the Delhi elections. It is time for the BJP to introspect and hone its governance skills to regain the confidence it enjoyed earlier, that resulted in its Lok Sabha victory. Congratulations to Mr. Nitish Kumar for scoring a hat-trick, and I hope he meets the people’s expectations.
Anshu Patel,
Dhanbad
The landslide victory of the Grand Alliance in the Bihar elections proves that the bedrock of secularism on which Indian democracy was founded is safe. The dispassionate observer was watching with growing anguish the recent developments in India. The Prime Minster of India is the head of a pluralistic society with multifarious interests. He should not just satisfy himself with mob oratory and unfulfilled promises. He should be a champion of the teeming millions and, by his words and deeds, commit himself to the all-round development of the country, irrespective of his political and personal leanings. Further, he should be respectful of our ideals, the time-tested values of truth, socialism, democracy and secularism. Bihar has shown in unmistakable terms that Indian democracy is far too sturdy to be swept away by fissiparous tendencies.
Abraham Kuruvilla,
Kottayam
The results will check the spread of the BJP in eastern India as Bihar is the gateway to the eastern part of the country. The BJP should take a lesson from this result and follow the advice of Moody’s Analytics, which warned the Prime Minister that unless he steps in to rein in members of the party, India runs the risk of losing credibility. It is also advisable that Mr. Modi avoid involving himself too much in State elections as it becomes a PM vs. CM battle, which is against the spirit of our federal structure.
Lajpat Rai,
New Delhi
When Arun Shourie expressed his disappointment with the NDA’s declining popularity, it was brushed aside by BJP leaders due to overconfidence. The Delhi Assembly results, coming so soon after a spectacular show by the BJP in the general elections, should have warned the party that there is a silent undercurrent moving against it coming to power in States. Its election strategy should have focused on gaining the confidence of voters and not on personalised campaigning. The BJP failed to see the warning signals and has paid the price.
The tragedy of the Bihar results is that it has made some parties like the RJD — which were responsible for impoverishing Bihar earlier — more relevant. The outlook is gloomy for the BJP. It has to either improve governance or face the rout in future elections as well.
Ramachandran V.N.,
Vadodara
Congratulations to the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. It is a victory for the lesser evil, but a good lesson for polarising BJP leaders such as Sakshi Maharaj and Yogi Adityanath. I hope that at least now, the Prime Minister will ensure that these hate mongers are not allowed to dominate the agenda. That polarisation doesn’t always help win votes is clear. I am, however, sceptical about whether the mandate can be called a ‘victory of the seculars’. I do not think either the RJD, the JD(U) and the Congress can claim to be the sentinels of secularism.
K.B. Dessai,
Margao
