Faisal Ahmad
Bihar Elections are round the corner, and the state has become the epicentre of India’s shifting political mood. Once a bastion of the Modi wave, Bihar now reflects the growing disillusionment with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) reliance on rhetoric over results. What is being billed as the “mother of all elections” by the Election Commission could well determine the trajectory of national politics in the coming years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again turned to the familiar playbook – mixing hyper-nationalism with anti-Pakistan sentiment. His fiery speeches following the Pahalgam incident cast Pakistan as an omnipresent threat while portraying the BJP as the sole guardian of India’s sovereignty. Yet, behind the patriotic theatrics lies an uncomfortable truth: Bihar’s governance failures remain unaddressed. From unfulfilled infrastructure projects promised in 2020 to staggering unemployment and deepening poverty, the state’s developmental narrative has been replaced by political diversion.
Despite a capital outlay of 42,000 crore-nearly 14% of its budget-Bihar’s infrastructure remains crumbling. The state has 3.16 crore registered job seekers, but private-sector employment stands at an abysmal 1.9%, compared to the national average of over 11%. Nearly 35% of the population still lives below the poverty line, and 88% of its people reside in rural areas that have seen little improvement. For millions of youth, “vikas” (development) remains an empty slogan.
The BJP-JD(U) alliance, supported by smaller partners like Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), faces mounting discontent. Nitish Kumar’s return to the NDA has done little to bridge growing internal rifts or restore public faith. Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) led by RJD, bolstered by Congress and left parties, sees an opening in this political fatigue. Adding to the contest’s complexity are new entrants such as Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) offering issue-based politics in a state long defined by caste arithmetic. Yet, the BJP seems intent on repeating its time-tested formula of polarisation. Bihar has witnessed a worrying spike in communal incidents – from just 7 in 2024 to 65 in 2025 – mostly targeting Muslims, Dalits, and Christians. The party’s campaign has deliberately invoked fear, portraying Bihar’s 726-km Nepal border as a security risk linked to Pakistan and alleged infiltration. This securitisation of local issues serves a dual purpose: to consolidate upper-caste Hindu votes and distract from governance shortcomings.
Minority politics has become another theatre of manipulation. AIMIM, led by Asaduddin Owaisi, is accused of playing the BJP’s proxy, fragmenting Muslim votes to weaken secular coalitions. Such engineered divisions have allowed the BJP to dominate even as its actual welfare record remains dismal. The party’s reluctance to support a full caste census further exposes its fear of empowering marginalised groups that could challenge its upper-caste base.
The rhetoric has also grown increasingly toxic. Union Minister Giriraj Singh recently labelled Muslim beneficiaries of government schemes “Namak Haram,” while BJP’s Pragya Thakur called on parents to punish daughters who marry outside their faith. These are not isolated provocations but calculated signals of intolerance and deliberate attempts to harden communal lines before the polls. This weaponisation of religion and welfare erodes the foundations of democracy. It is turning elections into contests of fear rather than governance. Beyond Bihar, public anger is bubbling nationwide. The recent attack on BJP leaders Khagen Murmu and Shankar Ghosh in Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district revealed how deeply resentment against the party has spread. From Manipur’s unrest to Ladakh’s protests and Kashmir’s atrocities, the BJP’s model of control is facing rejection across the peripheries of India. What happened in Bengal, where an enraged crowd turned on its own BJP MP, is symptomatic of a broader erosion of faith in Modi’s political theatre. Bihar, with its 243 seats and complex caste dynamics, could become the decisive stage where this national discontent crystallises into political change. The youth, once the vanguard of Modi’s appeal, now demand jobs, education, and accountability instead of emotive slogans. The state’s 17% Muslim population and vast backward-caste electorate could decisively tilt the balance if mobilised around issues rather than identity.
As the polling day approaches, the BJP’s campaign appears trapped in its contradictions. It is torn between the language of nationalism and the reality of economic distress. The party that promised development has turned to polarisation as its last resort. Bihar’s electorate, long accustomed to political manoeuvring, now faces a defining choice: to endorse fear or demand performance. If the disillusionment in Bihar mirrors the broader Indian mood, these elections may mark not just a state verdict but a national reckoning! It will be a test whether India’s democracy can still rise above propaganda and reclaim its promise of equality and justice, or will follow the same playbook of 3Ds: deceit, divisions and disillusions!
The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar & a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad. He can be reached at fa7263125@gmail.com.
