The surge in the number of political roles in Bihar may well impact the election as these new players could play the role of spoiler.

After the formation of Jan Suraaj led by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, three more political parties have been formed. No parties have yet announced that they want to be part of a bigger alliance. The three parties are Aap Sabki Awaz (Rashtriya) formed by former IAS officer RCP Singh, Inquilab Party (IIP) by former Congress leader I.P. Gupta, and Hind Sena Party by former IPS officer Shivdeep Wamanrao Lande who recently resigned from the civil services.

While Mr. Gupta and Mr. Singh are seeking to rely on caste votes, namely the Tanti-Tatva (EBC) and the Kurmi (OBC), respectively, Mr. Lande and Mr. Kishor are seeking a platform of “clean” politics, going beyond caste and religion.

Asked about the number of seats in which his party would field candidates, Mr. Singh told The Hindu, “We have made the organisation at every level, be it block, panchayat, district and Assembly seat level. We are holding programmes in every district and we are monitoring in which Assembly constituencies our leaders are eager to contest elections as per the equations in the constituency.”

He further said, “We will surely field candidates in those seats where we are confident of winning. However, the number has not yet been decided. I have closely watched the politics of Bihar for almost four decades. Our party is new but the people associated with the party are seasoned politicians. I know it takes time for a new political party to leave a mark but every political party enters politics as a new party and then makes a difference. Our party is just one of them.”

Mr. Singh did not mind contesting elections in alliance with established political parties. “I have very good relations with all the political parties and options are open for us. If we make an alliance with any political party, our success rate would be excellent,” Mr. Singh said.

A challenge to established parties

The emergence of the new political parties can be seen as a challenge to the established political parties. For the last five decades, the politics in Bihar has revolved around the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad, Janata Dal-(United) president Nitish Kumar and late Ram Vilas Paswan of the united Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

In the past, smaller parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and The Plurals Party (TPP) of Pushpam Priya Choudhary have played the role of Vote Katwa (vote cropper). Mr. Gupta, however, lost his cool when asked that if his party would play the role of vote cropper saying that such words should not be used for his party.

Apart from the two major alliances in Bihar, the JD-(U)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also preparing to contest the elections besides Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (ASP).

Mr. Kishor’s party Jan Suraaj had registered its presence in the recent by-elections by winning 10% of the total vote and spoiling the chances of the grand alliance.

While speaking to The Hindu, Jan Suraaj State president Manoj Bharti said, “We are going to contest elections in all 243 Assembly seats. We are here to give an option to the people of Bihar. We are only informing the people that corruption is deep-rooted and the government which has been ruling is not concerned about the real issues and did not fulfil the promises they made. We are also informing the people that they must be concerned about the future of their children.”

He added that the politics of Jan Suraaj is not based on caste rather giving representation on the basis of its respective population.

“More than contesting elections, we are focused on educating the people of Bihar. We are telling them to understand the reason behind their pathetic condition and the present established parties cannot bring any change. So, they must give a chance to a new thought and new party,” Mr. Bharti said.

More parties could spring up seeking to leverage caste votes. “The new political parties just want to make their presence known. The political parties based on caste want established players to give them some attention so that they can get one or two seats. The other reason for forming the political party before the election is donation in the name of allotting tickets. By and large, the people always see such parties as vote-katwa,” said Patna-based political expert Dr. Sanjay Kumar.