Few can defend the demise of the Lalu Yadav raj, but it would be ahistorical to celebrate the victory of the Nitish Kumar-led alliance. The latter has won by participating in a "social-engineering" process, that seeks not empowerment of the lower castes but a reworking of the socio-political agenda to ensure that the upper castes regain their hold on the political establishment by co-opting individual leaders from among the backward castes and even accord them positions of prime importance. And this time the "others" in society - the OBCs and the dalits -will not give up their rights without a fight.