Elections 2019: Keeping Left Parties Out May Prove Costly For Grand Alliance in Bihar

The decision of Bihar’s opposition Grand Alliance to ignore Left parties and keep them out of the alliance to contest Lok Sabha polls is likely to cost it heavily. This has also raised eyebrows on the Grand Alliance’s seriousness to take on the BJP-led NDA in the poll battle in the state.

With campaigning for the polls slowly picking up for 40 Lok Sabha seats of Bihar, Left parties have decided to contest polls together unlike last Lok Sabha polls in 2014 when they fought elections separately. “We have decided to contest together and support each other against BJP and to ensure its defeat,”Awadhesh Kumar, state secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Bihar, said.

He said CPI(M) will support the CPI candidate from Begusarai parliamentary constituency, Kanhaiya Kumar, former JNUSU president, and CPI(Marxist-Leninist) candidate from Ara seat  Raju Yadav. The CPI (M) is contesting from Ujuyarpur seat.

Earlier, CPI(ML) declined to be part of the Grand Alliance after Rashtriya Janata Dal had offered a seat from its own quota and none to the CPI and CPI (M). The party has decided to contest from four seats and leave one seat to RJD, in view of one seat offered before.

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However, there is no denying the fact on the ground that traditionally Left parties have their presence in Bihar and the CPI used to be a dominant political force at one time. Even now, the Left parties have certain pockets of strongholds and social support base, which are visible and reflected from time to time during protests, rallies and so on.

Sensing this, the CPI(ML), which is considered a strong political force with three MLAs in the state assembly and a huge support base across several districts, particularly in the rural areas, has made it clear that the Left parties must not be neglected.

According to poll watchers, there are at least one dozen Lok Sabha seats, including Begusarai, Ara, Ujiyarpur, Siwan, Karakat, Madhubani, Patliputra, Jehanabad, Motihari, Darbhanga, Banka and Khagaria, where Left parties can influence the poll outcome. “Left parties may not win on its own but they have support base that tilt the balance in favour or against any one and influence polls outcome,” said, poll watcher Amish Ankur.

What surprised one and all in political circles in the state is that the Grand Alliance have given 3 seats each to newly formed caste-based party Vikashsheel Insaan Party and Hindustan Awam Morcha of former chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and 5 seats to Rashtriya Lok Samata Party of former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha. Neither VIP nor HAM have any solid support base, that has been tested so far.

Also Read: Elections 2019: RJD to Contest 20 Seats, Congress Gets 9 in Bihar Grand Alliance

CPI (ML) leader Kunal said that Grand Alliance has not taken any lessons from betrayal of the popular mandate of the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls .The RJD, Congress and Janata Dal-United had formed an alliance- Mahagathbandhan in the polls. But JD-U president and chief minister Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP and formed the government in July 2017. It prompted Lalu to termed Nitish Kumar as “Paltu Ram”(man who switches side for self interest).

In 2014, Left parties were kept away by the RJD and Congress from their alliance and forced to contest polls separately. Though Left parties contested separately, their candidates in seven Lok Sabha seats including Begusarai, Ara, Siwan, Patliputra and Ujiyarpur, split the votes that resulted in the defeat of RJD and Congress candidates.

Take for instance, the Patliputra constituency. In last two Lok Sabha polls in 2009 and 2014, the CPI(ML ) candidate had got over 55,000 and 51,000 votes that resulted in defeat of RJD candidate.In 2009 polls, RJD chief Lalu Prasad was defeated by 23,000 votes and in 2014 Lalu’s elder daughter Bharti was defeated by 40,000 votes.

“If RJD and Left parties had contested together the result would be different, the BJP would have been defeated,” Kunal said.

Similarly, in the Begusarai seat in 2014 polls, CPI candidate polled 1.92 lakh votes in and in 2009 polls, CPI was defeated by merely 40,000 votes.

In Ara seat, CPI(ML) candidate polled 98,805 votes in 2014 polls and polled 1.15 lakh votes in 2009 polls. In Siwan, CPI(ML) candidate polled 81,000 votes in 2014. As a result of vote cutting, BJP won in both seats.

“By keeping Left parties out of the Grand Alliance, polarisation of votes against BJP has weakened. It would prove bad for the Alliance,” Kunal said.

In the 2014 general elections, the RJD won only four seats and the Congress two. The NCP won one seat. The JD-U, which contested separately, also won only two seats. The BJP-led NDA won 31 seats, with the BJP tally being 22.

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