'Non-resident' Biharis follow Lalu's fortunes

NEW DELHI: The "expat" Bihari community in the city is all agog. The three-phased election is over and the jury remains out on Lalu-Rabri raj. Will the RJD strongman go or will he cling on? Has the NDA done well enough to make a fair bid at government-formation.
Bihar continues to surprise. By all accounts, the state has witnessed a cracker of an election and with Lalu Prasad generating interest far and beyond the borders of Bihar, there is a sense of anticipation.
With thousands of Biharis arriving in the city every year in search of employment, the debates over reports of kidnappings, jungle-raj, caste conflicts in the land of 80 million are intense.
In the Capital, home to over 20 lakh Biharis, the sense of excitement is palpable. The exit polls have added a keener zing. Many rue the state''s record on human, economic and social counts — lowest literacy (47 per cent), lowest economic growth rate, most economically backward, highest rate of population growth.
"We''ll have to live with glaring poverty, come what may," rues Bal Mukund, a daily wage earner in Patparganj. Mukund manages to earn about Rs 150 every day which takes care of his family of four. "But I end up digging the well everyday. Had the situation been not what it is today in Bihar, I should have lived there with lot more dignity and comfort," complains the 33-year-old, whose brothers have no other source of income at Jehanabad except a vegetable vend in the local subji mandi.
For Ram Naresh Yadav, a public call operator at Noida, the elections do provide an "opportunity for Lalu and Rabri to yet again show to the world their charisma." For the proud Yadav, caste loyalty reins supreme.
This is perhaps true of most average Biharis. Little wonder, political formations have been exploiting this card to the hilt. And given the dearth of any other issue, why not? "Did you hear them talk of industries, employment, empowerment in this elections?," questions Shailesh Ranjan, a software professional, a native of Patna, now based in Delhi.
Echoes Bihar watcher Amitabh Singh, a teacher-fellow at JNU: "I feel saddened by the developments in last 15 years and this time too there is no credible alternative in sight. With criminalisation of politics becoming so rampant in this election, I wonder at the fate of the land of Buddha."
Not all is lost for Nitesh Kumar Mishra, a senior government officer of Bihar origin, who "largely depend on the media feed to form his opinion."
Mishra hopes that "elections would enable rebel groups and organisations like the naxalites to fall within the broader democratic process."
Singh, however, raises an alarm over an unprecedented developments this time. "How can they extern democratically elected representatives from visiting their constituencies," he questions, referring to the recent externment cases involving four MPs.
While the externed politicians rue over their fates, the fate of the state is for now sealed in EVMs.