-The Indian Express Railways has introduced clone trains to replicate services with a long waiting list. Out of the 40 such trains, around 24 are from stations in Bihar. Even as the Opposition in Bihar tries to make the plight of migrant workers an election issue, train passenger data shows high occupancy rates on routes connecting the state with destinations that rely heavily on migrant labour. The demand has been such that...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Farm bills: Politics now threatens to complicate the process -Ajay Vir Jakhar
-The Indian Express An opportunity has been lost in the lackadaisical handling of the issue. When the establishment ignores the historical context and the emotional component underlying any debate, mass protests can erupt to potentially shape the future. The people of Punjab would not have wanted a confrontation with the Union government, neither would I want to put it so bluntly, but around us, agitated farmers, with a strong common purpose, are...
More »Who cares about this Bihar Election? -Supriya Sharma
-Scroll.in Floods, coronavirus, unemployment, hunger. Snapshots from Muzaffarpur district of an election where everyone speaks of change but no one is sure what it means. For six months, there was no work. Only hunger and debt. When work finally came, it proved deadly. “His leg swelled up, sir,” said a neighbour. “Itna hi dukh tha. That was all to his suffering.” Gorkha Manjhi died on October 14, three days after he came back from...
More »Migrant workers express hurt over lockdown but older voting loyalties also remain -Nistula Hebbar
-The Hindu Every election hangs between the two points of mahaul (atmosphere) and samikaran (voter block equations), goes the popular wisdom on polls in Bihar. JEHANABAD: Mrityunjay Kumar worked as a tailor at a small boutique in Noida when a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was announced. He found himself without a job and far from his home in the Mahmudpur village in Jehanabad district of Bihar. Like many...
More »Caste-community configurations and alliances: Tracking BJP’s electoral footprints in Bihar -Saqib Khan
-Vikalp.ind.in In the run-up to the 2020 Bihar Assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been trying to portray itself as an equal partner in its alliance with the Janata Dal (United) (JD) (U) and a key player in the state’s electoral politics. From 11.6 per cent vote share in the 1990 Assembly election, BJP gradually consolidated its position in the state in the 1990s and 2000s and became a...
More »