Latest news with #post-Nitish
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: When the past and the future hold us in mid-air
You know that odd moment while flipping an hourglass, when the sand hasn't quite begun to fall, and time feels suspended? It's a pause full of tension and ambiguity. We often find ourselves there, between action and consequence, old certainties and emerging futures, motion and meaning. Standing still, but not stable. That's where the world seems to be now, unsure whether to cling to the known or brave the new. Let's dive in. Take the US Federal Reserve, which chose to hold interest rates steady, but not out of comfort. Jonathan Levin writes that geopolitical unrest and Trump-era trade policies have placed Jerome Powell in an economic no-man's-land. With inflation still sticky and labour markets softening, the Fed's September decision looms like a turning hourglass, gravity pulling in all directions, but no clear drop yet. India's political hourglass is turning too, especially in Bihar. Aditi Phadnis meets a Dalit BJP MLA from Samastipur who, despite his party loyalty, admires Nitish Kumar's values. As Nitish faces perhaps his last election, the BJP is hedging bets, unsure whether to preserve past partnerships or prepare for a post-Nitish era. The sand has shifted, but succession lines remain blurred. Shekhar Gupta warns of a strategic stasis of our own making. For decades, India fought to de-hyphenate itself from Pakistan, treating each neighbour, especially China, on its own terms. Yet by making Pakistan central to domestic political narratives, the Modi government risks reviving the very hyphenation it sought to erase. This 'self-hyphenation' may make electoral sense but clouds strategic clarity. The sand shifts, but backwards. Meanwhile, in the virtual world, the sins of our ancestors are back, just with apps and algorithms. Sandeep Goyal rewires the seven deadly sins through digital lenses, from pride on Instagram to sloth on Netflix. Our online lives aren't just shaped by technology; they're trapped in timeless moral loops, only this time, the confessional booth is the comment section. But in one corner of the world, the sands finally settled in favour of redemption. South Africa's World Test Championship win, writes Kumar Abishek, wasn't just cricket, it was a healing echo of Mandela's legacy. As Temba Bavuma lifted the mace, flanked by white and Black teammates, a multiracial team stood tall on centuries of pain. In that moment, the past met the future. And for once, time didn't just pass, it progressed. Stay tuned!
India Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
From 'Vote Katua' to Kingmaker? Chirag's return stirs unease in NDA ahead of Bihar polls
With Chirag Paswan hinting at contesting the upcoming Bihar elections, 'Chirag for CM' posters coming up across the state, and reports of his party demanding 33 seats, an eerie unease returns to the NDA, similar to the one witnessed during the 2020 Vidhan Sabha polls. Chirag aims to restore the past glory of the party and throw in his hat for the Chief Ministership in the state, staring at the political vacuum in a post-Nitish era. With the BJP still struggling to create a pan-state leader, this would pitch him in a direct battle with Tejashwi Yadav, party strategists 2020 Chacha-Bhatija SagaChirag Paswan, unhappy at being denied 30 seats in the alliance, decided to contest on a standalone basis. To the utter surprise of everyone, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) put up candidates against the JDU and not against the BJP, ostensibly at the behest of the saffron party, even fielding some rebels of the saffron party. The strategy allegedly was to weaken Nitish Kumar while at the same time crowding out the opposition and damaging Mahagathbandhan's (MGB) prospects by bagging a section of anti-NDA votes. In a very close election where NDA and MGB were tied at around 37 per cent vote share, NDA edged out MGB 125-110 in assembly strength of LJP(R) candidates received a higher number of votes than the victory margin in 73 of the 137 seats contested, damaging the prospects of NDA in 40, MGB in 32 and Others in 1 seat. Chirag specifically targeted JD(U), bagging a section of BJP voters unhappy with its decision to continue to project Nitish as chief was largely responsible for bringing down JDU's tally from 71 in 2015 to 43 in 2020. LJP(R) damaged JDU in 33 seats. In the 28 seats where JDU was runner-up, LJP(R) got more votes than the margin of victory. On five seats, it pushed JDU to the third spot, emerging as runner-up. While the party could win just one seat, it played spoilsport to the cause of JDU-LJP(R) riftLJP(R) is eyeing more seats to take advantage of a weakening JDU and the fragile health of Nitish. There is a strong historical reason for the unease in the relationship between the two parties. In its first election in Bihar in March 2005, LJP(R) emerged as the choice of Dalits, bagging a 12 per cent vote share and winning 29 seats, forcing a hung assembly. In the elections which followed in six months, while LJP(R) more or less retained the vote share, its tally fell to 10 seats, resulting in the onset of the Nitish era. The Dalit population in Bihar was 16 per cent as per the 2011 census. Acting on recommendations of the State Mahadalit Commission, Nitish created a separate category for marginalized SCs in 2007 in a bid to cultivate his constituency among them and politically weaken Ram Vilas Paswan (Chirag's late father).All Scheduled Caste groups accounting for 10 per cent of the population were included under Mahadalits, leaving out only the Paswans or Dusadhs accounting for 6 per cent. Since this move, the LJP(R)'s vote share has halved from 11 per cent in 2005 to 7 per cent in 2010 and further to 6 per cent in 2020. Its seat tally has declined from 29 in 2005 to 3 in 2010 and then to just 1 in the 2020 Vidhan Sabha polls. The LJP(R)'s clout has declined in the Nitish era as he emerged as the leader of Mahadalits, restricting Paswan's hold to just their contrasting poll fortunesLJP(R) exhibits contrasting performance in Bihar. Its tally has been reduced from three in 2010 to just one in 2020 state elections, highlighting inconsistency in its alliance strategy. In 2010, it contested with the RJD. In 2015, it shifted to a BJP-led alliance, while in 2020, it contested alone, rebelling from the NDA, or rebelling from part of the NDA. In the Lok Sabha elections, on the other hand, it has achieved a 100 per cent / near 100 per cent strike rate. It won 6/7 seats in 2014 as an NDA ally, 6/6 in 2019 and 5/5 in 2024, riding on the Modi wave during this period. Chirag's father, called a political mausam vaigyanik, shifted to NDA from UPA before the 2014 general elections, sensing public mood in favour of from 2020 DebacleThe lesson for Chirag after the 2020 debacle is that he cannot risk dabbling alone again in 2025. He was labelled a vote katua party during 2020. He needs to stick with the alliance to win a handful of seats and regain relevance in state is why, despite overzealous party workers, Chirag has clearly mentioned that there is no vacancy for the CM post in NDA, Nitish would continue to be the CM face, and that he is not throwing his hat in the ring. At the same time, he is aware that the LJP(R) brings an extra 6 per cent of votes to the alliance, and is looking to leverage it in seat distribution party's goal is to reclaim the past glory under the late Ram Vilas Paswan in state politics and equal the best-ever 12.6 per cent vote share, emerging as the choice of the entire SC community and not only Paswans/Dusadhs, which account for 5.31 per cent of population as per Bihar Caste Survey. The BJP has given an NOC to the LJP(R)'s desire to field Chirag as a candidate and that too from a general seat as the party hopes to extend influence beyond his entry may be seen suspiciously by JDU as another ploy by the BJP to weaken Nitish. BJP Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, who nurses CM ambitions, may also not be happy at this prospect as it weakens his claim for the top post. Chirag is young and is believed to have a decent statewide presence. The BJP, which lacks leaders, wishes to pitch him against Tejashwi, who is emerging as the number one choice of the youth reeling from the unemployment Paswan has risen in the CM preference ratings in the C-Voter survey from 5.8 per cent in April to 10.6 per cent in May (+4.8 per cent). He has gained at the expense of Samrat Chaudhary, whose ratings have declined from 12.5 per cent to 6.6 per cent (-5.9 per cent).(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Must Watch
