As far as Khemka’s murder is concerned, NDA partners Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha have either not made comments or chosen to attack RJD’s ‘Jungle Raj’ to avoid embarrassing the Nitish government. Chirag, therefore, has stood out.
Addressing the Nav Sankalp rally in Chapra, Chirag said, “This is of grave concern—the way murder and kidnapping take place daily in Bihar. Law and order have crashed. And, it is not only a question of murder but also a murder in a posh locality in the open, only 100 m from the police station and the residences of officers.”
“Imagine, if such open murders are happening in posh colonies of Patna, what may be the situation in distant villages? Under a government known for its good governance, the law and order situation is such that it provides the Opposition an opportunity to raise questions. It is serious, considering I also support the government. The government should establish a precedent to establish the confidence of the people.”
A day later, Chirag cited another case of murder in home district of Nitish Kumar to highlight the crumbling status of law and order in state under CM. “Yesterday, 16-year-old Himanshu Paswan and 20-year-old Anu Kumar were brutally shot dead by criminals in Bihar Sharif, Nalanda. This incident is extremely unfortunate and condemnable. This heinous incident not only shakes humanity, but also shows that law and order has completely collapsed in Bihar,” he said.
As in 2020, when he made a dent in the Nitish voter base by fielding candidates against JD(U), Chirag continues to take an anti-Nitish line within the NDA, finding faults not only with law and order but also the caste survey, the liquor ban, youth migration, and domicile laws.
Criticism of caste survey
A month ago, in June, when the Nitish government faced severe attack from the Opposition after a case of gang rape of a nine-year-old Dalit girl, who subsequently died in the absence of treatment at a Patna hospital, Chirag criticised the Nitish government for “gross negligence” and called the incident a “crime against humanity” in a letter to the CM.
His letter read: “The incident of gang rape and the subsequent attempted murder of a nine-year-old Dalit girl in Muzaffarpur’s Kudhni area on 26 May has shaken the entire state. This horrific crime is not only the brutal killing of an innocent life but also highlights a deep breakdown in law and order, social consciousness, and the public health system of Bihar.”
A week ago, Arun Bharti, the brother-in-law of Chirag and Jamui MP, called the much-publicised 2023 caste survey in Bihar a conspiracy, alleging undercounting of the Dalits, Mahadalits, and tribals. “This, with the motive of establishing a Muslim-Yadav dominance while turning the Dalits into his vote bank,” Bharti said. He, however, praised the Modi government for its plans surrounding a caste census.
The issue of youth employment
At a Sunday meeting, Chirag questioned the Bihar government about the migration of people out of the state due to a lack of employment, an issue that opposition leaders, such as Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishore, repeatedly use to attack Nitish.
Chirag asked, “Have you ever heard of people in Delhi wanting to work in Bihar? Have you ever heard that boys and girls in Mumbai want to come to Bihar for a better education? Why do people from Bihar go out? I plan to set up clusters here for better employment, and I want better education so that our children do not go to Kota.”
Last week, students aspiring to clear the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exams launched a protest, demanding the implementation of a domicile policy to ensure more government jobs for the youth of Bihar.
Hundreds of aspirants protested and met Bihar Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena, asking for the government to meet their demands.
Tejashwi has already promised the immediate implementation of 100 percent domicile for Bihar students if the Mahagathbandhan comes to power in the state.
JD(U), however, has opposed the domicile demand, stating that “bringing domicile policy for jobs will be against the Constitution”.
Despite being its ally, Chirag has supported the domicile policy. “For the sake of Bihar youth, I am in support of introducing a domicile policy for government jobs; this has been a long-standing demand of job seekers.”
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Conspiracies & anxieties
On Sunday, Chirag indirectly hinted at a conspiracy. Without taking names, he said certain people did not want him to contest the Bihar elections, but he was determined to fight.
Chirag also said, “People are content with securing their future. They are worried about my vision of ‘Bihar First’ and ‘Bihari First’, so they have been conspiring to hinder my involvement in state politics. They are trying to create confusion in the minds of people by asking whether Chirag will contest the assembly polls, but we will contest all 243 seats.”
These allegations came two weeks after Nitish enquired why Chirag, a Union minister, wanted to contest the Bihar assembly elections.
Arun Bharti disclosed last week that a brief exchange had occurred between Nitish and Chirag before the PM’s rally. Nitish purportedly told Chirag, “You are a young Union minister; why do you want to contest assembly elections, and which seats are you contesting? You have a glorious future ahead.” Chirag purportedly responded with, “Now, the party is in an organising mode; if the party decides on my candidacy, I will meet you to take your blessings.”
Nitish’s direct enquiry, as claimed by Bharti, does seem to hint at growing anxiety over Chirag among the JD(U) ranks. His 2025 plan could be a concern, knowing he had made a dent in the JD(U) vote bank in 2020.
Dalit leadership, or bigger ambitions?
According to sources, not only JD(U) but also Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has been worried, considering how the Dalit leadership will shape up as Chirag gains prominence.
Last week, Jitan Ram Manjhi, a prominent Dalit leader in the NDA, said, “Chirag lacks experience”. Soon after, Arun Bharti reminded Manjhi that Chirag also had no experience in resigning from the post of chief minister without facing the assembly.
During May, when Tejashwi organised a huge Pasi conference, eyeing the Pasi Dalit votes ahead of the assembly polls, demanding “toddy be given industry status and removed from the liquor ban”, Chirag supported him, questioning the state’s ban decision.
He said: “I have said many times that here, toddy is a natural product, and it must not be called ‘liquor’. I am supporting the government otherwise, but have demanded it lift the ban on toddy many times.”
An LJP leader, however, dismissed that Chirag was vying for Dalit leadership only, saying, “Chirag is eyeing a bigger role in Bihar politics; he is positioning himself not as a Dalit leader, but a young aspirational leader who knows the problems of Bihar and is capable of addressing them. The youth in Bihar, the aspirational voters, are not enthusiastic about voting for an ageing Nitish. Tejashwi Yadav and Prashant Kishore are already trying to attract that segment. Chirag is also eyeing those voters.”
“However, for now, he is only raising issues and positioning himself as a potential CM choice after Nitish. He can be a player eventually, but JD(U) now is using Jitan Ram Manjhi to cut Chirag to size and has shown more consideration about accommodating Manjhi,” he told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity.
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What the parties are saying
LJP spokesperson, speaking to ThePrint, R. Vineet said, “Chirag Paswan has clarified our focus to fight for the ‘Bihar first’ vision, and we have united with the NDA for the coming election. Right now, our priority is to get a respectable number of assembly seats to contest during the seat-sharing talks.”
On the other hand, a state JD(U) vice president told ThePrint, “With the BJP 2020 designs behind us, we are careful about such game plans. LJP is taking part in all the NDA rallies and posturing for a larger seat share, but knowing the history, we are careful.”
Sources within the JD(U) say that LJP’s rally in the Nitish stronghold of Rajgir and Shahabad has also alarmed the party.
Prem Ranjan Patel, a BJP spokesperson, told ThePrint, “NDA partners in Bihar have no confusion that we are contesting the election on the leadership of Nitish Kumar, as well as Prime Minister Modi. As far as the desire of Chirag Paswan to contest the assembly election is concerned, he is the LJP chief and can contest the election from allotted seats.”
Sources within the BJP say Chirag’s ambition is to contest more assembly seats to boost his party’s chances of winning seats, thereby reversing the continuous dip in its assembly poll performances since 2005. “Since there are three big players in Bihar, BJP, JD(U), and RJD, Chirag is positioning himself for the post-Nitish phase in Bihar,” one of them told ThePrint.
The brave face of JD(U)
On law and order in Bihar, BJP’s Patel said, “We have a zero-tolerance policy towards crime. The Chief Minister himself has asked officers to act in the Khemka [murder] case.”
Facing attacks from nearly all quarters on law and order, JD(U) has defended Nitish, saying law and order in Bihar has, of late, improved, especially with the CM stepping in and instructing officers to take appropriate actions.
JD(U) spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Singh said, “Crimes can happen anywhere, but what responsibility the police are taking up is more important. The track record of police on arrests, investigations, and ensuring action matters more.”
“Over the last 20 years, the Bihar government has developed a machinery under which CM Nitish Kumar monitors the work of the police, and every case is a challenge the police attempt to crack. The Opposition is creating a lot of noise, but our responsibility is to ensure proper actions. Bihar Police will take care of that.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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