Monday, April 02, 2007
After riding the crest without any opposition for some time now, the first signs of unrest against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appeared recently — less than fifteen months after his coming to power in the state. One of his close confidants in the party staged a Kushwaha caste rally in Patna and voiced discontent against the present government. Leaders of the caste, cutting across party lines, shared the dais and charged that their caste was being deprived of its due share in power, despite the fact that the caste played a crucial role in ousting Lalu Prasad Yadav and installing Nitish KuA principal general secretary in the state party, Upendra Kushwaha had organised the rally and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chaggan Bhujbal was the chief guest. JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha is reported to have fallen off with Nitish and, thereby, he gave vent to his anger through this rally.
The well-attended rally is being perceived as the beginning of a revolt against the Nitish Kumar government. The leaders stressed the aspiration of its caste members to see a member of their caste donning the seat of power in the state. They stressed that though they formed nine per cent of the state’s population but still have failed to make it to the top post while other castes with a much lower share have become rulers. “This rally is not for or against the government. This is to give the message that Kushwahas will no longer act as a political appendage in the state and will teach a lesson to those who think so,” Upendra Kushwaha declared, while exhorting his caste men and other marginalised backwards to rise for their right.
Kushwahas or Koirees are an intermediary or backward caste. They form a part of the “Luv-Kush” combination — a nomenclature popular in the mid nineties when Nitish Kumar broke away from Lalu Prasad Yadav and formed Samta Party. This combination of two backward castes, Kurmis and Kushwahas, was used by Nitish, himself a Kurmi, to create a division in the unified backward vote bank in post-Mandal Bihar and start his campaign against Lalu in 1994. The two caste votes were considered to be his core support base since both the backward castes felt alienated during the Lalu regime, said to be dominated by the Yadavs.
Interestingly, history seems to have been repeated through the Kushwaha rally. In 1993, Patna had witnessed a similar caste rally of Kurmi’s which was attended by Nitish Kumar and it paved the way for the split in the erstwhile Janata Dal. Though the Kushwaha rally, according to old timers, lacked the proportion of Kurmi rally but it has certainly made Kushwahas aware about demanding their pound of flesh in the new dispensation.
Unlike the past when Lalu was charged of favouring only his caste men among the backwards, the present Nitish regime is placed in the dock for favouring a particular upper caste. In this direction, a couplet, Naya Bihar, Nitish Kumar, Thoda Thoda Kurmi, Jyaadaa Bhumihar, is presently doing the rounds. The Kushwaha rally was about cautioning Kumar against the dominance of upper castes in governance.
Though Nitish Kumar has refrained from reacting over the rally, his uneasiness is obvious. Few days after the event Upendra Kushwaha was slapped with a letter from the state Assembly asking him to vacate the official quarter since he had lost the last Assembly election.mar.
The well-attended rally is being perceived as the beginning of a revolt against the Nitish Kumar government. The leaders stressed the aspiration of its caste members to see a member of their caste donning the seat of power in the state. They stressed that though they formed nine per cent of the state’s population but still have failed to make it to the top post while other castes with a much lower share have become rulers. “This rally is not for or against the government. This is to give the message that Kushwahas will no longer act as a political appendage in the state and will teach a lesson to those who think so,” Upendra Kushwaha declared, while exhorting his caste men and other marginalised backwards to rise for their right.
Kushwahas or Koirees are an intermediary or backward caste. They form a part of the “Luv-Kush” combination — a nomenclature popular in the mid nineties when Nitish Kumar broke away from Lalu Prasad Yadav and formed Samta Party. This combination of two backward castes, Kurmis and Kushwahas, was used by Nitish, himself a Kurmi, to create a division in the unified backward vote bank in post-Mandal Bihar and start his campaign against Lalu in 1994. The two caste votes were considered to be his core support base since both the backward castes felt alienated during the Lalu regime, said to be dominated by the Yadavs.
Interestingly, history seems to have been repeated through the Kushwaha rally. In 1993, Patna had witnessed a similar caste rally of Kurmi’s which was attended by Nitish Kumar and it paved the way for the split in the erstwhile Janata Dal. Though the Kushwaha rally, according to old timers, lacked the proportion of Kurmi rally but it has certainly made Kushwahas aware about demanding their pound of flesh in the new dispensation.
Unlike the past when Lalu was charged of favouring only his caste men among the backwards, the present Nitish regime is placed in the dock for favouring a particular upper caste. In this direction, a couplet, Naya Bihar, Nitish Kumar, Thoda Thoda Kurmi, Jyaadaa Bhumihar, is presently doing the rounds. The Kushwaha rally was about cautioning Kumar against the dominance of upper castes in governance.
Though Nitish Kumar has refrained from reacting over the rally, his uneasiness is obvious. Few days after the event Upendra Kushwaha was slapped with a letter from the state Assembly asking him to vacate the official quarter since he had lost the last Assembly election.mar.
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