Bihar bleeds again: ‘Jungle Raj' is not good for Nitish Kumar's political fortunes

Indian Express

18-07-2025

Bihar is bleeding again. The slogan 'Bihar mein bahaar hai, Nitish Kumar hai' — once symbolic of hope and governance — now rings hollow with the recent uptick in crime. The streets of Patna — the very heart of the state's politics, education, and aspiration — echoed with gunshots yesterday, this time inside Paras hospital, one of the elite medical facilities in the state. This incident, among others, is not merely a lapse in law and order — it signals a deeper crisis: Resurgence of unchecked violence in a state still grappling with the shadows of its troubled past.
The phrase 'Jungle Raj,' once synonymous with the collapse of governance during Lalu Prasad's regime, has returned to public discourse. Certainly, Bihar is no longer in the 1990s. Governance has become more institutionalised, policing more structured, and developmental indicators — from roads to electricity to school enrolment — have seen measurable improvement. Yet recent patterns — extortion threats, daylight murders, attacks on journalists, student clashes, and now a targeted firing at a hospital — suggest a deeply worrying slide.
Patna, once seen as a hub for civil service aspirants and a growing middle-class economy, is fast turning into a battleground for political muscle-flexing. The latest shooting, the daylight murder of a businessman allegedly close to the BJP, along with violent clashes between student groups, and repeated threats to and assaults on journalists, reflects a growing disregard for the law.
What has really changed since the 'Jungle Raj' days? No one can deny Nitish Kumar the credit for weakening the entrenched politician-criminal nexus, which curbed organised crime in Bihar. However, those hard-won gains now appear increasingly fragile.
Nitish Kumar, who rose to power promising 'Sushasan' (good governance), now finds himself presiding over a state that appears to be veering back towards lawlessness. His frequent U-turns, health issues, and public goof-ups seem to have eroded his administrative authority and the trust his voters had in him.
As the 2025 Assembly elections approach, the rising tide of crime presents a serious political challenge for the JD(U), the BJP and other NDA partners. Tejashwi Yadav is steadily reasserting himself, while Nitish Kumar's once-strong image as the 'Sushasan Babu' falters. The resurgence of lawlessness is blunting one of the NDA's most potent electoral weapons — the 'Jungle Raj' narrative against the RJD. As fear returns to the streets, the lines between the past and the present begin to blur, weakening the very contrast the NDA built its political appeal on.
Unlike the rural, caste-driven violence of Bihar in the 1990s, today's crime is increasingly urban, calculated, and seems to be fuelled by rising poverty, unemployment, and social frustration. The government's response has been formulaic: Blame games, suspensions, and hollow assurances of 'strict action'. But law and order isn't just a police issue — it demands political will.
If this continues, Nitish may lose public trust, especially women voters. His prohibition policy had earned him their goodwill, but growing insecurity may do the opposite. Another major constituency, the youth, who haven't much memory of Lalu's alleged 'Jungle Raj', are confronting a complex reality. Safety is not a luxury — it is a basic right.
Rahul Gandhi has accused the state government of prioritising 'position over protection,' claiming that while Bihar burns, ministers chase commissions. Exaggerated, maybe, but it may strike a chord with a frustrated electorate.
Still, it would be unfair to ignore certain facts. There have been swift arrests in some high-profile cases, along with an improvement in conviction rates in recent years. Nitish Kumar has also announced 125 units of free electricity to all houses. Welfare measures like job quotas for women and caste-survey-driven schemes have attempted to address deeper social inequities. But governance is more than mere policy declarations.
Nevertheless, the current state of affairs cannot be laid solely at the feet of one political alliance or leader. Structural weaknesses — including rampant unemployment, under-policing, and a sluggish justice system — have festered across regimes. Bihar continues to have one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the country and one of the lowest per-capita incomes. The easy availability of illegal arms, systemic police vacancies, and over 3.7 million pending court cases only worsen the situation.
Nitish Kumar, who has been at the helm eight times and ruled Bihar for over 18 years, often while shifting political allegiances between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan, must also share responsibility for these enduring systemic failures. And while the NDA government's failures rightly deserve scrutiny, the Opposition's attacks also warrant closer examination. Tejashwi Yadav's accusations of 'criminal disorder' ring hollow in light of the RJD's own legacy of law and order. Similarly, Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the BJP conveniently overlooks the Congress party's past indifference, particularly when it was allied with Lalu.
The writer is a political commentator and teaches Political Science at DDU Gorakhpur University, Uttar Pradesh