Bihar Polls: Class Conflict & Course of Alliance Politics
Bihar continues to remain among India’s most backward states. Widespread unemployment has forced millions of educated and unskilled youths to migrate to other states in search of livelihood. Government schools and colleges lack adequate teachers, basic infrastructure, and an environment conducive to learning, while private institutions are proliferating rapidly.
The state’s public healthcare system is in deep crisis—there is an acute shortage of doctors, nurses, and staff, and negligence toward patients is widespread. Nearly 10 million people are homeless, and corruption has become institutionalised in government offices. Incidents of crime, looting, and violence against women and children are steadily increasing.
The state government takes credit for enforcing prohibition, yet illegal liquor dens continue to flourish. The construction of a few roads and flyovers has been showcased as evidence of “development,” even though these projects are often marred by corruption and commission-based contracts.
During the 20-year rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party–Janata Dal (United) alliance, millions of acres of fertile farmland have been lost. While Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dismisses the demand for housing for the poor by claiming there is “no land available,” his government has forcibly acquired 1,064 acres of fertile farmland in Chausa (Buxar) for industrial projects, brutally suppressing protesting farmers.
Similarly, in Bhagalpur’s Pirpainti, 1,050 acres were handed over to the Adani Group for a power plant at a token rate of Re 1 per acre per year. Meanwhile, dozens of defunct sugar mills and industrial units remain closed.
Before the 2014 general elections, BJP’s Narendra Modi had promised to bring back black money stashed abroad, deposit ₹15 lakh in every citizen’s account, double farmers’ income, and provide 20 million jobs annually. These promises have turned out to be hollow slogans. Inflation is at its peak; farmers are compelled to buy seeds and fertilisers at inflated prices, and their crops are destroyed by floods or droughts.
Farming has become a loss-making occupation, leaving cultivators buried in debt, while corporate profits—especially those of conglomerates like Adani and Ambani—are soaring. At the same time, communal divisions are being deliberately inflamed among the poor and marginalised, and those who raise legitimate demands are being imprisoned.
Today, Bihar’s working people stand at a decisive historical juncture. There is mounting anger and resentment against the feudal–capitalist BJP–JD(U) regime. There is not merely a desire for regime change but a resurgence of the historical aspiration for social justice, employment, equality, and dignity.
Limits of RJD and Need for Broader Alliance
The success of this struggle depends on certain political realities. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) cannot, under any circumstances, lead this fight to a decisive victory alone. Bihar’s social and class structure has moved far beyond the era of single-party dominance.
RJD’s young leader, Tejashwi Yadav—who currently serves as a key component of the INDIA bloc alongside the Left parties and Congress—must rise above narrow partisan interests. He must take concrete steps toward building a wider unity, ideological clarity, and organisational strength. Alliance politics cannot be reduced to the arithmetic of seat-sharing; it must evolve into a politics of shared ideas, struggles, and purpose.
Left’s Contribution & Neglect of Class Perspective
Viewing the Left merely as RJD’s “palanquin bearers” reflects a growing class arrogance and opportunism within RJD. This not only weakens the moral and political credibility of the alliance but also creates ideological confusion among the masses. Historically, the Left forces have been the backbone of Bihar’s people’s struggles—be it land reforms, workers’ rights, peasant movements, or resistance to communalism. Ignoring the class-based and mass-oriented nature of the Left would be politically disastrous.
If the Left decides to contest all 243 Assembly seats, the consequences for RJD could be severe. RJD leader Lalu Prasad himself has experienced this dynamic in his political career; for Tejashwi Yadav, repeating that mistake would be a grave political miscalculation.
Changing Political Culture & Aspirations
The real challenge in Bihar today is not merely changing governments but transforming the political culture itself. Without class unity, ideological clarity, and organisational coordination, the aspirations of the people will remain trapped in caste equations and opportunistic alliances.
The younger generation—striving for employment, education, and a dignified life—seeks to move beyond the old symbols and caste-based politics. Democratic forces, the Left organisations, and progressive intellectuals must collectively guide this historical transition in a constructive direction.
The struggle in Bihar is not only for electoral success but for social and ideological reconstruction. This land has the potential to give birth to a new consciousness of class struggle—provided alliance politics transcends opportunism and embraces the foundational ideals of justice, equality, and public welfare.
If Tejashwi Yadav and RJD grasp this historic opportunity, Bihar’s political landscape could undergo a transformative shift. If not, history will once again find them standing at the same crossroads—where class arrogance and ideological confusion left the people’s hopes unfulfilled.
The writer is former Professor of Economics, University of Technology, Papua New Guinea, Universiti Utara Malaysia, and author (Researching Sustainable Economic Development, the Political Economy of the Global South, and India’s Socio-Economic Crisis). The views are personal.
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