THE ISSUE IN BIHAR
THE ISSUE IN BIHAR
Editorial
The Pioneer, via News Plus
By all accounts, the numbers game is on in right earnest
in Bihar. Ever since the people delivered a fractured
verdict in the state, the political equation has remained
stubbornly irresolute with none of the two contenders for
power able to summon the required numbers.
As both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) struggle towards the elusive
magic figure of 163 in the 324-member House, efforts are
afoot to woo friends, foes and fence-sitters alike; the
term like-minded party is poised to acquire a new
elasticity. Independents and smaller parties have been
suddenly catapulted to centrestage and virtually all
parties appear vulnerable to imminent splits and cross-
overs. In such a scenario, the onus is on the Governor,
Mr Vinod Pandey, to ensure that the situation does not
degenerate further and an already fractured mandate is
not mutilated at will by horse traders and political
poachers on the prowl.
Admittedly, Governor Pandey is faced with a difficult
predicament. Even as he consults legal and constitutional
experts on the options before him, it is necessary that
he reminds himself that the issue is not one of the
formation of a government alone, but of a stable
government. The long-suffering people of Bihar do not
need merely another ruling dispensation, they need one
that lasts, can deliver, one that is able to govern
effectively. Arguably, Mr Pandey has before him the
Bommai judgement which stipulates that the majority issue
be decided on the floor of the House. On the other hand,
he can also choose to follow the precedent of demanding
that rival chief ministerial aspirants, RJD's Ms Rabri
Devi and NDA's Mr Nitish Kumar, furnish letters of
support. In view of the complexities of the political
jigsaw in Bihar though, it seems almost certain that
neither side is in a position to fulfill either
stipulation without effecting a split in one or more of
the parties involved. Given the hopelessly hung House,
therefore, the Bihar Governor would do well to consider a
third alternative of recommending the imposition of
President's Rule in the State while keeping the newly-
elected Assembly in suspended animation till the impasse
is broken. And if the political stalemate were to still
show no signs of being broken, there is no alternative,
in the last instance, to going back to the people.
In a democracy, governments must not be the creation of
the furtive backroom manipulation of political numbers;
they must be the product of the people's mandate. It is
true that the people of Bihar have failed to make a
decisive choice in the just-concluded polls to the State
Assembly. But the solution is not to allow a government
to be formed by the engineering of defections and the
breaking of parties. Apart from being undemocratic, such
a government would be constrained to perennially look
over its shoulder in order to simply survive. Bihar needs
and deserves a government that can boldly look ahead
because only such a regime can pull the benighted state
out of the quicksand of underdevelopment. As the state's
fate hangs in balance today, the onus is on its Governor
to pave the way for the coming of such a dispensation.
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