EDITORIAL
In the long list of electoral slogans, a new one has just taken birth: ‘Badh Chala Bihar’ — Bihar moves forward. With the assembly elections round the corner, the newly formed Janata Parivar has coined this slogan to counter the BJP. The slogan suggests that the thrust of the poll campaign by the Janata Parivar in Bihar this time would be the issue of the state’s growth and not simply mud-slinging against rivals as had been the tradition in this cow belt state. It surely would be appreciable if a similar mindset is brought into the governmental functioning after the elections too, no matter who wins.
In fact, the political slogans in Bihar had traditionally been leader-based and interesting limericks aiming at maligning the rival party. To exemplify this, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had framed a poll slogan that spoke of permanency in seat of power by its leader Laloo Prasad Yadav. It was: Jab Tak Rahega Samose mein aloo, Tab tak Rahega, Bihar mein Laloo. This could be roughly translated into — as long as there are potatoes in samosas, Laloo would remain in power in Bihar. It however proved to be otherwise. The counter-slogan by the BJP was equally interesting. To counter Laloo who was implicated in the fodder scam, the BJP coined its own limerick: “Murgi chore, chara chore, Jaldi jaldi gaddi chhod ….” (the thief who stole fodder of animals must vacate his seat of power).
The BJP has not yet announced its slogan to fight the upcoming Bihar assembly polls this time, and chances are that it might campaign in the name of Prime Minister Damodardass Modi. The Congress too is yet to officially announce its slogan for the upcoming Bihar polls. Going by the history of political slogans in Bihar, this is the first time that growth or development has been pegged as the theme of the poll campaign.
In fact, slogans are part of the political life in the state. Whenever political troubles erupted in Bihar, interesting slogans were invented. During the 1972 assembly poll campaign, the electorate in Bihar were greeted with a very interesting limerick to portray the bad habits of one of the campaigners of Indian National Congress: Abdul Ghafoor. Ghaffor, also the chief ministerial candidate, had a liking for toddy (intoxicating palm tree extract) and paan (betel leaf). Hence, the think tanks of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh created a slogan that matched his profile:
Haath mein botal, mooh mein paan, Yeh hai Ghafoor Mian ki pehchan.
Soon after Jayaprakash Narayan launched his agitation against the Congress government in 1972, the slogan was Sampoorna Kranti or Total Revolution. It was very successful and the slogan reverberated throughout not only that state but spread across the Hindi speaking cow belt. In Bihar, the Congress slogan Aadhi roti Khayenge, Indira ji ko wapas layenge (we may eat half a piece of bread but shall ensure that Indira Gandhi returns to power) was countered in a very innovative way by the Opposition. Supporting the Sampoorna Kranti movement of Jayaprakash Narayan, it coined the slogan: Indira Hatao Desh Bachao…..
One of the most rhythmic slogans of Jana Sangh to face the Congress ran thus: Jansangha ko vote do, Beedi pina chhor do, Beedi mein tambakhu hai, Congresswallah chore hai.
The build-up for the assembly elections has started and alliances are in place. Slogans apart, the question this time is who will have the last laugh. Arch rivals Laloo Prasad and Nitish Kumar have cobbled what looks like a formidable coalition with “blessings from Rahul Gandhi”, pouring cold water on the hopes of the BJP. At a time when the Narendra Damodardass Modi government is belying its General Election slogan of Achche Din, there might be little chances of a Modi Magic saving the party this time.
A defeat for the BJP in Bihar, which many foresee today, is not only bound to hurt the morale of the ruling party at the Centre, but also send out different signals to neighbouring West Bengal that will go for assembly polls next year. For the Congress, ceding ground to regional satraps and losing its own identity in Bihar means little as long as the main goal remains stopping prime rival BJP in its tracks.
