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The Complexity of Bihar Politics
Bihar’s politics has been dominated by caste alliances. The Bharatiya Janata Party has entered this scenario with the claim of carving out a new identity politics. This has attracted the upper castes too.
The politics of Bihar defies any simplistic prediction as it is one state that is down in the development index but very high in political consciousness. It is dominated by regional parties primarily based on caste and community alliances. For the 2019 elections, all big and small parties are divided into two main blocs. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JD(U))and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) constitute the first bloc, which intends to combine the upper caste, non-Yadav Other Backward Classes (OBCs), including Most Backward Castes (MBCs) and Dalits. In opposition to this, the Mahagathbandhan includes the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), which anticipates a combination of a section of the upper castes, Muslims, Yadavs, non-Paswan Dalits and Kushwahas. To understand the formation of these two blocs and their capacity to hold their respective caste constituencies, we need to have a bit of background of the electoral history of the state.
Historical Backdrop
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