MUZAFFARPUR/DARBHANGA/BHAGALPUR: If the exit poll projections come true when the votes are counted on Tuesday, then the “double engine” that has powered Bihar since 2017 faces the danger of getting derailed.
The “double engine” refers to the combination of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar and the NDA government at the Centre that, in their proclamation, is taking the state on the path of development.
Both Nitish and Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the “double engine” during the campaign.
From the first rally in Sasaram on October 23 to the last address to the voters through an open letter, Modi said he had “full faith that the power of the double engine will take Bihar to new heights of development in the next decade.” But did Bihar really take huge strides because of the double engine?
The record is mixed, with the state’s economy growing in double digits during 2017- 18 and 2018-19 but not doing so well on other fronts.
The cold statistics find expression among the people, with the mood on the ground overwhelmingly of Nitish doing a lot of good work in his first two terms in office but faltering in the last five years, three of which were with the double engine.
Vinit Vijay, a banker in Darbhanga, said “all the developmental work relating to roads, electricity, water and other basic infrastructure were carried out in the first two terms of Nitish Kumar, but in the last term he got stuck in politics.”
Work suffered as image building kept Nitish busy in last term: Experts
Mukesh Kumar in Muzaffarpur agreed.
“The first years of the Nitish rule were great, but during the last five years nothing significant was done. All he did was ban the sale of liquor and putting restrictions on the sand mafia,” said Kumar.
The people may not be entirely wrong. Take sectoral growth for instance.
According to the Bihar Economic Survey 2019-2020, which has quoted National Statistical Organisation data, the primary sector grew by 9.6% in 2012-13, but fell to 0.6% in 2018-19. The secondary sector grew by 27.8% in 2013-14, falling to 6.3% in 2018-19.
Clearly, manufacturing, industry and factories did not perform well in the later years of the Nitish government.
The agriculture sector also showed mixed results. The total cereal production was 14,321.11 MT in 2014-15, it increased to 15,858,11 MT in 2018- 19. But rice production fell from 8,241.62 MT to 6,115.53 MT in the corresponding period.
As for pulses, it remained almost constant in these years, with production being 428.93 and 453.43 MT.
On jobs, Nitish did poorly, leading to it becoming a major election issue. The rural and urban unemployment rates in 2017-18 were 6.8% and 9.0% respectively while the national average was 5.3% and 7.7%.
Figures for salaried employees showed that Bihar’s average, 11.9%, was lower than the national average of 23.4%. The percentage of casual workers in the state, 32.1%, was higher than the all- India figure of 24.3%.
According to retired journalist and political analyst Law Kumar Mishra, the primary reason behind Nitish not delivering in the last term was because he was busy only in image- building.
“The first term was really good, the second term was satisfactory but in the last term he was confined only to Nal-Jal Yojana. Nitish indulged in activities like calling (Mukesh) Ambani, (Gautam) Adani and Bill Gates in order to bring industries to the state but that did not happen.” Mishra said Nitish went on a self-promotion drive, with posters, banners and advertisements in the media.
“The feel-good factor dominated Nitish and gradually he became the most inaccessible chief minister in the country.”
Economists seemed to agree with Mishra, who said the “arrogance of power” was the main reason why Nitish could not deliver.
“Basically Nitish is not a democrat, he is an autocrat by nature and in any autocratic rule, initially a lot of development takes place but as time passes and the ruler becomes confident of his chair, he starts neglecting the people,” said former economics head of the department of Patna University, Naval Kishore Chaudhary.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary said, “it was not a double engine but a troubledengine government.”
He said the government was preoccupied with things which had a disconnect with the problems of the people. But BJP’s Prem Ranjan Patel said the government had set a benchmark with all-round development in the last five years in education, health, road, power, employment.
Growth dip
Bihar Economic Survey 2019- 2020 says the primary sector grew by 9.6% in 2012-13, but fell to 0.6% in 2018-19.