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Supreme Court refuses to stay publication of draft electoral rolls in Bihar
'As far as ration cards are concerned, we can say they can be forged easily, but Aadhaar and voter cards have some sanctity and have a presumption of genuineness. You continue accepting these documents,' the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, urged the court not to allow finalisation of the electoral rolls in the interim. The bench, however, noted that the petitioners had not sought interim relief during the last hearing and, therefore, it could not be granted now.
The court said it would take a final decision after hearing all parties in the case on Tuesday. The ECI can deal with cases of forgery on a case-to-case basis, as any document can be forged, the two-judge bench remarked.
On 10 July, the court had told the ECI to consider Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards, and ration cards as acceptable documents for the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the Assembly election. It also clarified that this direction does not imply that the ECI must include a person's name in the roll solely on the basis of these documents.
'We have noted that, anyway, you have said your list is not exhaustive. If you have a good reason to discard Aadhaar, you do it, give reasons,' the court said.
In a counter-affidavit, the ECI had stated that Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards cannot be considered as proof of voter eligibility under the ongoing exercise for electoral roll revision in Bihar. The commission said the three documents do not meet the required standards for verifying eligibility during the process.
The court is hearing pleas challenging the ECI's 24 June directive ordering a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The directive mandates that voters not listed in the 2003 electoral roll submit documents proving their citizenship. Those born after December 2004 must also furnish the citizenship documents of both parents, with additional requirements if a parent is a foreign national.
On Monday, the court also observed that the petitions raised 'an important question which goes to the very root of the functioning of democracy in the country — the right to vote'.
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Scroll.in
20 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
‘Jeans jihad': How Delhi's industries ministry shut down a booming, Muslim-dominated garment hub
For over two decades, the jeans stitching hub in the urban village of Khyala in West Delhi drew hundreds of Muslim tailors from Uttar Pradesh. Scores of sweatshops mushroomed here as the business grew, prompting the authorities in 2021 to recognise Khyala as an industrial area. In time, a wholesale jeans market – among the largest in Delhi – sprang up in the neighbourhoods abutting Khyala. While Muslims dominated the business by virtue of being the first movers, Hindus and Sikhs found space in it too. All was well, locals say, till accusations began to float around this summer that Muslims were waging a so-called jeans jihad. According to this conspiracy theory, Muslims had been using the jeans business to change the demography of the area by forcing out Sikhs and Hindus. Amplifying the claims (though he did not specifically use the term 'jeans jihad') was Manjinder Singh Sirsa of the Bharatiya Janata Party – the local MLA and Delhi's minister for industries. On social media, he has weaponised residents' grievances against the haphazard expansion of the jeans industry using communal rhetoric that attacks its mostly Muslim workers. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) Sirsa has repeatedly asserted that the Muslims from Uttar Pradesh working in the jeans business are 'Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators'. Not only that, craftsmen alleged that the minister has used his powers to shut down jeans factories and drive workers away from the area. When Scroll visited Khyala, it was clear that industrial activity had been virtually paralysed because of a sealing drive against establishments claimed to be illegal. The few workers still around were idling about. Most had returned to Uttar Pradesh or moved elsewhere for work. The industries minister has publicly claimed credit for the shutdown of the Khyala garment hub. The Rohingya-Bangladeshi bogey 'You can come to my area and see for yourself,' the minister boasted on a podcast that was aired on July 7. 'I chased out many of them who were working in jeans factories.' The interviewer had asked Sirsa what the BJP government in Delhi was doing about 'illegal immigrants' from Bangladesh and Myanmar. Sirsa offered no evidence to support his allegations. There are no reports of the police investigating claims of foreign migrants working in Khyala, much less confirmed instances. The station house officer of Khyala police station refused to comment on whether any foreign nationals had been found in the area. Calls and messages to the deputy commissioner of police in West Delhi district went unanswered. When Scroll asked Sirsa about the absence of evidence for his Rohingya-Bangladeshi claims, he said: 'It is good if they have run away. Now our area will be safer.' Sirsa also said that he was 'executing orders' passed by the Supreme Court regarding unlawful businesses. 'The problem of illegal factories has been there for a long time,' he added. 'We are sorting it out now.' The podcast was not the first time that the minister had claimed that Bangladeshis and Rohingyas were employed in the Khyala jeans industry. His social media posts show that he began using the communal dog whistle back in May. In the beginning, Sirsa only spoke against the factories that had expanded into the residential parts of his constituency. There was some merit to this complaint, said residents. Khyala is chock-a-block with factories, offices and dhabas. As business grew, establishments started to spill out into the neighbouring areas of Raghubir Nagar and Vishnu Garden. This had a dual effect on those already living there: while real-estate prices shot up, traffic and waste management got worse. 'During the elections, Sirsa promised to clear the roads and drains,' said Shrikant Porwal, a jeans wholesaler and a prominent member of the market association. 'He was under pressure to perform. If he did not solve problems in his own constituency, it would reflect poorly on him as a minister.' By the end of May, Sirsa was accusing business owners of making the area uninhabitable and threatening them with imminent action. In one of his videos, he singled out a biryani shop for attention. 'You people have made it impossible for residents to survive here,' he said. 'Sisters, daughters and mothers can't step out of their homes.' A sealing drive began in June, with government officials downing the shutters of allegedly illegal factories. Around the same time, sections of the Hindi media picked up the story and labelled it it a case of ' jeans jihad'. According to these publications, Hindu and Sikh residents were being forced to vacate the area because of the ever-expanding, Muslim-dominated denim business. Curiously, most of these media outlets used images of the same placard that was supposedly pasted outside buildings in Khyala. 'Jeans Jihad. This house is for sale,' it read. None of the people that Scroll spoke to for this article knew where the placard came from. On July 1, Sirsa joined the chorus. 'Hindu girls and Sikh families are suffering in my constituency,' he claimed in an Instagram video. 'You [Muslim business owners] opened chicken shops there to drive people out. They had to move out of their homes.' Sirsa told Scroll he had nothing to do with the 'jeans jihad' theory. However, he reiterated his concern for Hindu and Sikh families. 'If Rohingyas and Bangladeshis come here, who else will be at risk?' he asked. Residents insist that this fear-mongering is without basis and precedent. Abid Khan, who has made jeans in the area since 1999, said that Sikh residents had never complained about their Muslim neighbours in Khyala and Vishnu Garden before. 'I challenge you to go through police records and find five such cases from the last 20 years,' he added. 'Have the Sikhs suddenly discovered these problems with us Muslims? There is no issue between the two communities. Only outsiders are bringing this up.' Harcharan Singh Kalsi, a 55-year-old Sikh salesman, also said that residents like him bore no ill feeling towards those working in the jeans business. In fact, he credited the industry for pushing up property prices in the area. 'In Delhi, there are many neighbourhoods like Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazaar that are both commercial and residential,' he said. 'It is a good thing. We have no problems with it.' A senior police officer from West Delhi district, who asked not to be identified, dismissed the idea that the jeans industry had led to more crime in the area. Disputes between neighbours had led to the civic authorities sealing some factories but there was no increase in street crimes, the officer said. However, Sirsa stuck to his guns and reiterated the Bangladeshi-Rohingya charge in his attacks on the jeans business. 'These people are dangerous like snakes,' he said in the podcast. 'They bite the hand that feeds them.' Gripped by fear The minister's words and actions have had a devastating impact on those who depend on the jeans business for their livelihood. Until the start of the government crackdown in June, it used to employ more than 15,000 workers, estimated Abid Khan, the jeans manufacturer. Only a fraction of them are still around. 'There is fear in the minds of people,' said Khan. 'The poor, daily wage earners have been hit the worst. Those who did not have licences simply picked up their machines and left.' Shah Rukh Khan, a tailor from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh worked in Khyala for 15 years before the sealing drive forced him to go back. While he still stitches jeans for a living, his earnings have dropped substantially. 'I go to Delhi to buy supplies so that is an extra cost I have to bear,' he said. 'There is no place like Delhi for this business. I had to leave because my landlord was afraid that his property would get sealed.' Workers who stayed bendhid had to reckon with frequent shutdowns and lost wages because of the frequent visits from government officials. When Scroll visited Khyala, workers were roaming the streets and chatting about which factories were sealed that day. 'I will have to go and find work in Noida now,' complained Shanu Khan, a tailor from Budaun in Uttar Pradesh. 'There are many problems here. All the dhabas have shut down.' Aman Pathan, another tailor from Budaun, said that officials had carried out inspects three times in just the previous week, effectively bringing work to a halt. This meant that he and other workers had managed to make very little money in this time because their pay is based on how many pairs of jeans they are able to stitch every week. Asked about the charge that the workers were Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, Pathan simply said: 'They can call us anything they want to, they are in power.' Even Sirsa's supporters in Khyala and Vishnu Garden struggled to defend his claims about foreigners working in the factories. 'I have never seen any Bengalis working in this market, let alone any Bangladeshis or Rohingyas,' said Porwal, the member of the market association. 'People from Uttar Pradesh run the show here. Sirsa may have been talking about the whole constituency and not this market.' While Porwal expressed support for government intervention in his area, he did not agree with 'jeans jihad' theory. 'Things should be resolved peacefully,' he appealed. 'So many people depend on this market. Yes, all businesses should be legal. But nobody should have to leave. After all, every market in Delhi is somewhat illegal.'
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Probe agencies can't question lawyers' professional work: SC
NEW DELHI: In the process of framing guidelines to bar probe agencies from summoning lawyers for rendering opinion to clients, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the privilege of immunity from prosecution is available to a lawyer as long as he or she acts as a legal practitioner for a client. During a proceeding initiated suo motu after the Enforcement Directorate issued summons to two senior advocates and later withdrew it, a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said, "We cannot ignore the fact that two senior advocates were issued summons. We are only for people acting solely as advocates and about privileged lawyer-client communications." "The privilege of immunity from prosecution statutorily conferred on lawyers for appearing, advising or giving legal opinions to clients is like the sanction provision under the IPC. Their actions are privileged if they are done in the course of their duties as a lawyer. If they themselves indulge in wrong-doing or commit an offence, then there is no protection from prosecution," the CJI said. Senior advocates Vikas Singh, Ranjit Kumar, Mukul Rohatgi, A M Singhvi, A S Nadkarni Amit Desai, Vijay Hansaria, Shoeb Alam and many others flagged the summons issued to the advocates and said tomorrow they would seek details of bank accounts of lawyers, search their premises and seek electronic devices used by advocates in the name of investigating their clients. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mini House for 60 sqm for Seniors with Toilet and Bath (Price May Surprise You) Pre Fabricated Homes | Search Ads Search Now Undo "Are we not taking things too far," the CJI asked. Attorney general R Venkataramani said the govt has already acted swiftly and issued instructions to all probe agencies not to issue summons to lawyers for their profession-related work. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said he agrees with everyone in the courtroom that lawyers must not be summoned for their professional work. Mehta said it would not be prudent for the court to lay down guidelines based on a singular infraction and cautioned that it could prove counterproductive. "The agencies also cannot ignore a lawyer, who is a director of a company under investigation for fraudulent transactions, giving an opinion for commission of an illegality. Merely because he is a lawyer, he would not be immune from prosecution for the acts he did as director of the company," the SG said. Giving another example, he also said a fugitive, who fled the country, told the agency that the documents demanded from him are available with a law firm and that the officers could take it from the law firm. "Should the agency not go to the law firm to collect the documents? Will that impinge upon the lawyer's privilege?" SC asked and told the AG and the SG to give their response to the suggestions given by SCBA, SCAORA and other lawyers by Aug 12.
The Hindu
43 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Bihar's Assembly Election 2025: Aadhaar-Linked Voter Revision, Caste Realignments, and Nitish Kumar's Waning Grip
Published : Jul 29, 2025 18:24 IST - 14 MINS READ As Bihar prepares for the Assembly election in 2025, the State finds itself at the centre of a contentious electoral revision exercise that critics argue could disenfranchise vulnerable communities. The Election Commission of India's demand for Aadhaar cards and other documents has raised questions about the timing and intent of the drive, particularly in districts with significant Muslim populations. Against this backdrop, the State's political landscape is also transforming, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's influence waning after two decades in power, the BJP still unable to go it alone despite its national dominance, and new players like Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party entering the fray. Ashish Ranjan, founder of the Data Action Lab for Emerging Societies, who has been conducting field research in Bihar for the past two months, speaks to Saba Naqvi about the data behind the electoral revision controversy, the unique caste dynamics that continue to shape Bihar's politics, and why the State remains distinct from the broader Hindutva wave sweeping north India. Edited excerpts: Explain the charge that Aadhaar holders exceed the actual population in certain districts, particularly areas where Muslims live. Is that true? Let's begin with the idea of electoral revision. In principle, this is the fundamental right and responsibility of the ECI. We revise the electoral roll from time to time. But the question is, is it a good time when the election is scheduled after two or three months? And the requirement of documents—the Aadhaar, which is second only to the passport. Bihar has only around 2 per cent passport holders. How many per cent have Aadhaar? According to the Aadhaar website, it's 86 per cent. There are a few districts which have more Aadhaar than the population of the 2011 census. Please remember, this census, which was last done in 2011 because this government has delayed doing a census, is the basis for population estimates. As other websites claim, there are a few districts in Bihar which have more than 100 per cent, including Patna. Purnia, Katihar, and Seemanchal have 120-186 per cent. But we must remember one thing—on what basis is this calculation made? The census was done in 2011, which is 14 years ago. There are no other institutions apart from the Census of India which have State-wide population statistics. But there are some institutions like the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai, the United Nations Population Fund, and a few research agencies which have projected the State-wise population of India. When you compare these two data sets—the projection of populations and the Aadhaar numbers—you will see the claim is not as per the data. As per the Aadhaar website, Purnia has 39.54 lakh Aadhaars, Katihar has 39.7 lakh, Araria 34.3 and Kishanganj has 21.26 lakh, which is more than the 2011 census. But the IIPS projected population based on the 2011 census for 2026. According to them, around 36 lakh population is projected for Araria. Aadhaar has 34.3 lakh, which is less than the projected population. Kishanganj has 22 lakh projected population. Aadhaar has 21.25 lakh. So your data analytics shows that the claim that Aadhaar cannot be accepted because people can get multiple Aadhaars exceeding population is false? Exactly. And also, these districts are being targeted because of the higher population of Muslims. Even if we assume the number is correct, how can you ensure this is only Muslims who have taken more? It's not Bihar only. Delhi has 106.43 per cent Aadhaar compared to population. Goa more than 100 per cent. Himachal Pradesh more than 100 per cent. Kerala has 104 per cent. Punjab has 101.57 per cent. Telangana has 100.97 per cent. Even Uttarakhand 99.69 per cent. In comparison to all these States, Bihar is only 86 per cent. Even Gujarat has more than Bihar—91 per cent Aadhaar. Bihar has 86 per cent. This is from the Aadhaar website. Also Read | Haryana and J&K elections: What's the deal? Why do you think the Election Commission is doing this? After being called out on Maharashtra and the matter going to court, they changed the rules. Is there an agenda where richer, more landed, upper caste people are more likely to vote for the BJP, while poorer people are less likely to vote for the BJP, whose national vote has never crossed 36-37 per cent? Is there a conspiracy or bureaucratic overreach? I won't go into conspiracy because there could be many kinds. I work on data. Two interesting points. One, whether the ECI should have done this exercise after Maharashtra. In principle, they have the right and responsibilities. The question is timing and timeline. The Maharashtra election happened in October 2024. The ECI announced this in June 2024. So it was around nine months before. They had enough time. Why did they start in June only, why suddenly? But two things we need to mention. What is the role of the ECI in making a list of eligible voters? Go back 75 years. When India became independent, there were only 20 per cent of the population who were in the electorate because it was based on exclusion—property, your role in society. Poor, illiterate women were excluded from the voter list. India became independent, and the government announced universal franchise for citizens above 21 years. Later, Rajiv Gandhi reduced it to 18 years. The Constituent Assembly debates and role given to the ECI was to make the electoral roll more inclusive. Challenges were to include more and more eligible voters. The idea was inclusion. Before the 1951-52 elections, they came to an electoral roll which had 173 million population, around 17 crore, which was 49 per cent of the total population, unlike 20 per cent pre-Independence. Now the ECI is doing the opposite to their original direction. They are excluding. They are asking you to prove that you are a voter. This is not the right way. You had eight to nine months. In a State like Bihar, where the ECI already claims around 25-20 per cent of the population are migrants. Bihar is the only State in the Hindi belt where the BJP has not been able to directly rule. It needed a wire-puller like Nitish Kumar. Nitish is in decline. Then there's Prashant Kishor creating the new party Jan Suraaj. Chirag Paswan is being more ambitious. Four unknowns besides the voterless revision. Let's discuss Nitish Kumar's future. Three things are very unique. Bihar is still the State where the BJP, despite their dominance in the Hindi belt, has not been able to capture and still doesn't have the courage to go alone. This is the only State where they don't have courage despite the deteriorating health of Nitish Kumar. Second, Bihar is unique—in the last 35 years there is no new upper caste leader. You may see many other States have upper caste leaders but Bihar is still an OBC-dominated State. Old socialist leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan have already died. Lalu ji is also not in good health, and Nitish Kumar, although still the Chief Ministerial face for the NDA government. Even the 2025 election will be the last election for all these stalwarts. A new kind of politics will emerge in Bihar post-2025. The BJP does not have the courage to go alone despite having a good base. There is a good chunk of the population in Bihar who still feel that if the BJP comes to power, there would be Agra-Pichhra—forward versus backwards. People from backwards communities are not confident enough to have a BJP Chief Minister, a full-fledged BJP. Do you agree Nitish Kumar is in decline? I agree that Nitish Kumar is declining due to two forces. One is age. Second, this initiative could harm Nitish Kumar's voters more than any other party. Who is the core voter of Nitish Kumar? Women. Women vote in greater support of Nitish Kumar. Within the NDA and overall, the RJD has the plus point of the MY equation, which is around 32 per cent of the population. So they are in very good shape. Within the NDA, Nitish Kumar's core voters are the EBC and women. This initiative will target or eliminate more women voters than men. The reason is intrastate migration due to marriage and other things. They have difficulties in finding parents' birth certificates and other residential proof. Also, they are more economically poor than other categories. EBC has traditionally been a lower-income group, mostly, and also Dalits. For viewers unfamiliar—Nitish Kumar created categories called extremely backward caste (EBC) and Mahadalit. He called for a caste census in Bihar. Nitish came to power in 2005-2007. He did two important things: created the Mahadalit Commission and EBC. The major thing he did was initiate reservations for EBC and women in panchayati raj elections, local body elections, which empowered EBC. They are his core support base apart from his own community, Kurmis, and Kushwahas. Nitish is declining. He has been in power for the last 20 years, and his health is not in good condition today. The BJP has a difficulty—all problems lie in the fact that they have not been able to cultivate State-level leadership in Bihar. Bihar is one State which has been seeing a personality cult. Regional parties have been based on personality cult—first 15 years Lalu Yadav, then Nitish Kumar. The last single-party government in Bihar was in 1995 under Lalu Prasad Yadav. Nitish has never won a simple majority. He's the perfect coalition figure. Yes, he is the perfect coalition figure. It's credit to Nitish—he is the single most leader whose party has a coalition of castes. Nitish gets Muslim votes also, a little, but across all caste communities he can find support. Women have core strength. The second thing is the dire state of employment and economic decline of Bihar. There is a large migrant population with poor education and employment opportunities. Although in the last five years, they claimed they provided more than five lakh government jobs. If you go to Bihar and see posters of Nitish, the claim will be around nine lakh jobs in the last five years. The same Nitish who was saying in 2020, 'Where will this number come from?' Recently, the Prime Minister visited Motihari and there was a plan to generate around one crore employment opportunities. In south Bihar, where I've travelled, Bihar doesn't have urban hubs like UP. It's a highly rural State. There's a crisis in agriculture. Bihar's feudalism was more brutal than UP's. It came under the permanent settlement of the British. It had big zamindars. Different history. The percentage of the upper caste is also less than UP. But jobs—that's why Bihar has so many migrants. Since the 1995 Mandal election which Lalu won, he was the last to hold a simple majority. Even today, the RJD is the single largest party. Now you have Prashant Kishor. What are his chances? Bihar has only 12 per cent urban population according to the 2011 census. Almost the lowest in India. Look at UP—much higher. Bihar has a lot of handloom, handicraft clusters. The source of money is very less in Bihar internally than any other State. Two important points. The RJD has a good chunk of votes. They are in a dominant position with 23 per cent votes. The only problem—unless they add some EBC voters or some Dalit caste voters, I don't think upper castes will come to the RJD in the BJP dominance era. It's EBC, basically lower EBC. These are populations like Nonia, Tatma-Tati, they are still lacking representation. Bihar is one State where people are looking for representation. Who is going to represent me? Who is going to represent our community? There are lower EBC which have nothing. Recently when I was in Bihar in April, there was a Pan Sammelan. Pan is a community which has come to the region. Tatma-Tati, which is around 2 per cent of the State population according to the Bihar caste survey 2023, they were in SC. Nitish included them in SC, but a recent Supreme Court decision excluded them from SC. There was huge protest. People from that community said, 'If we had representation, they might have spoken in Parliament or Assembly.' There are these communities—it's usually called Pachpania in Bihar. Around 55 communities. Is Hindutva a factor in Bihar? We can't say no. But Bihar is still less Hindutva-oriented than other States. In the parliamentary election, the NDA has an edge, but it's not a phenomenon which occurred in 2014. Even if you see the past, only the 2004 Lok Sabha election, apart from this, in the last 30 years, you will see that the NDA has more MPs than the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar in the parliamentary election. But when it comes to Assembly—look at the 2015 Assembly election, despite the Modi wave at the national level, it was arithmetic when Lalu and Nitish combined. Also Read | Dalit voters, a decisive force There's been crime in Bihar lately. How will the BJP's narrative handle the law and order problem? I'll give you an example. Three days back the PM was in Motihari and look at his speech—he did not use 'jungle raj' unlike his previous speeches. Nitish has three USPs. One is law and order. Second was infrastructure development like roads, electricity poles, overbridges. Third, he literally empowered women from schools to jobs. But law and order, which is a huge USP of Nitish, is in question right now. I have a theory that Bihar is a giant panchayat. Every seat will have one influential caste leader, depending on caste demographics, one strongman,and one rich property-owning person. One gets a BJP-NDA ticket, one gets an RJD ticket. Prashant has the resources to pick the third influential person. Could he give tickets to winnable candidates without having a grassroots party? I agree with your point. He could give tickets to rich candidates also. The answer is in three points. Bihar is still a State where around 20 per cent votes are still a non-dominant force. The Mahagathbandhan and NDA managed to get 75-80 per cent votes. There are more than 20 per cent votes left behind the NDA and Mahagathbandhan. More possibilities for who will catch this. Second, I appreciate Prashant Kishor's initiative that he has been touring the State, trying to get the best chance for this election. Now come to numbers—in all States, at the competitive level of votes, the winning threshold is 40 per cent. Since the 1995 election, it was just 29 per cent vote the Janata Dal got and they got full majority. Now it's not possible. You still need 40 per cent. Last time it was 37 per cent vote share to both the NDA and INDIA, the victory margin was very less. So 20 per cent vote is remaining, which they are looking for a different thing. Unless Prashant Kishor could harm the NDA and Mahagathbandhan significantly, not minorly—even if the election gets triangular, you still need more than 30 per cent votes. I agree Prashant Kishor could harm some seats to the NDA and Mahagathbandhan. But on an individual level, I still don't think in Bihar, a State where voters are static and have been giving consent to parties continuously, it's still a very tough task where they will get votes in double digits. People have been travelling there for two months. What do people expect from the election beyond voting? Bihar is a State where there is not much demand from people. They are still—it might be due to the geographical region, because they have been facing floods, droughts every year. They are poor because landholding capacity is very less. So they might have been struggling themselves. They're still not thinking that the State has a responsibility to give them sufficient material. Politically, they are very much charged, but still, they are not very demanding. They are more focused on representation, caste representation or community representation. Because they think that they can raise their voice to their representative. That's the minimal thing they are asking. Being a strategist and getting sufficient number of votes to win an election are two very different things. Prashant Kishor has potential. Post-2025 might have a chance because all Bihar elections in 2025 will be focused on and only on Nitish Kumar. For me, Bihar would be more interesting between 2025 to 2030 where Nitish will be in decline. Most of his MLAs might go to the NDA. But voters, Nitish voters, which is around 15-16 per cent—whether Prashant Kishor, whether Congress, whether RJD or whether BJP, all are looking for that vote share. If you were to make a guess—yes, I know it's not a fair question—who will be the next Chief Minister of Bihar? On numbers, I don't think Nitish Kumar will continue as Chief Minister. Saba Naqvi is a Delhi-based journalist and author of four books who writes on politics and identity issues.
