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Development did Laloo in: experts

Soroor Ahmed in Patna

Some social thinkers here claim that it is development, rather than the lack of it, that could have contributed to Laloo Prasad Yadav's downfall.

By engineering a socio-political revolution, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief awakened the masses so much that he is now unable to fulfil their expectation, especially those related to the economy.

In the last one decade, Bihari society has undergone a sea change. Before 1990 the upper caste rural women and the downtrodden seldom turned up to exercise their franchise since the beliefs of that day said lining up in queue was below one's dignity.

The upper caste men would get their henchmen to grab booths for them. Now that the weaker sections have become more assertive about their electoral rights and since booth-capturing has been minimised, the women have begun to come out and vote.

The stranglehold of the upper castes too has weakened, and they have been forced to shed their concepts of superiority and family position. Laloo Prasad Yadav's biggest achievement is that he gave electoral empowerment to the backwards and, in the process, compelled the upper castes to shed many evil practices.

But revolutions have this habit of consuming their own creators and he is no exception. And he did far less than he actually could have.

Social scientists feel that Laloo Yadav has his own limitations and does not really fit into the new scenario that he himself created.

"No doubt, his contribution to social change is enormous. But he hadn't the vision or any understanding of economic development in the post-liberalisation days. Besides, he represented a class with no experience of governance. And, unfortunately for him, he got a hostile bureaucracy that missed no opportunity to taunt him," said Prof Bachu Prasad Singh, former head, department of political science, Patna University.

The rustic excesses of Laloo Yadav and his group and the casteist biases of some bureaucrats prevented the growth of a cordial relationship between the politicians the administration.

According to Dr Saibal Gupta, member-secretary of the Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute, Laloo Yadav was sincere in implementing the literacy campaign. That is why, in the 1990s, the literacy rate in Bihar was better than the national average. Certainly, no mean achievement.

However, it is these neo-literates that are now demanding better living and education facilities. Thus Laloo faces a decline of support from the very class -- the Dalits and the backwards -- that stood behind him like a rock in 1995.

Dr Arshad Ajmal, a social activist, cites another example.

"Almost all the roads of Patna have been built in the last four to five years... Yet one issue on which the most has been said is the condition of roads. This is simply because the people have become more enlightened, more demanding after tasting the fruit of development. In the past voters seldom make such demands."

According to Prof Bachu Prasad Singh, today's market economy demands a totally different leadership, not the traditional one now entrenched in power in the state.

Much emphasis is given to the proper utilisation of human resources.

"For example, see the much improved condition of power in the last one year. All this was the handiwork of one man, the new Chairman of the Bihar State Electricity Board, V S Dubey. When he took over he made it clear that he would not brook any political interference and the result is there for everyone to see. Unfortunately, the state government failed to make proper utilisation of human resources in other fields. Laloo brought in honest officers like K B Saxena, but failed to utilise his services," Singh said.

However, the political awareness of the 1990s has helped the conduct of election campaigns in the state. Dr Saibal Gupta said the whole campaigning process has metamorphosed.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, the Congress candidates used to would host a feast for the mukhiyas and influential people of their constituency. Top leaders like Indira Gandhi used to make one or two trip to the state and that was about all that happened. In contrast, the Communist and Socialist candidates used to work throughout the campaign period but since they lacked the ability to manage the booths they used to fail on election day."

However, things have changed completely. Now senior leaders like L K Advani and film stars like Shatrughan Sinha and Hema Malini can't just visit the big towns and hope the party they are supporting will win; they have also to address meetings in small townships and far-flung villages.

In the 1999 parliamentary election and in these assembly elections, there hasn't been one block that top leaders have not visited. True, they come in choppers and stay there for less than half an hour, yet it helps both leaders and voters to understand each other better. All this, thanks to the efforts of one Laloo.

Assembly Election 2000

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