Lok Sabha polls: Is Modi's appeal still intact in Bihar? Ground report from Patna, Hajipur

Hello and welcome once again to Elections on My Plate, where our travels across the country have brought us to a historic land where politics is truly a way of life. The people of Patna will often tell you that any major political change in the country begins here from Bihar. Remember, in 2019, the Modi LED alliance won an astounding 39 of the 40 seats in Bihar. But since then much political turbulence has taken place in these parts, even if the cast of characters are more or less the same. Fresh questions though are blowing in the summer wind. Is the Modi appeal still intact in these parts? Is Chief Minister Nitish Kumar an asset or a liability now for the ruling alliance? And whatever rising Tejaswi Yadav and his appeal, particularly for the younger demographic and of course that eternal factor in Bihar caste and dare I say this time the mahila of woman voter. Lots of questions. As I said in this summer wind, join me on elections on my plate. None. Now, in a city where everyone seems to have a political opinion, and a rather sharp one at that, perhaps there's no better place to start the day than here at the Patna Zoo, where the walkers include the Khasa Admi and the AAM aadmi. Come with me to meet Patnas power elite walkers, how are you? All can say Hai all well finished your walk. 100% middle class is my face. Nitish Kumar. Tejashwi Yadav. What about Nitish Kumar? Pendulum. Pendulum. Pendulum tiger again. Rajdeep jata hai. Tiger Atta hai Tiger Zinda hai. Good morning. Surprising minimum 30. Minimum 3032, Definite 30, Definite. Definite 3030 or below 20, Not expecting 400 seats. Not expecting 400 seats, but expecting what is the best thing at the moment for women in Bihar? And what's the worst thing? Nothing is. Nothing is best, Tiger. Thank you boss. Perfect. Very good for summer, healthy. Also look at this of being in India. I'm ready and I still have breakfast to go. Enjoy Nashta Time. Breakfast time. Let's go. How are you? Good to see you, Rohit. Welcome to Patna Circle. Thank you so much. Nice, smart kurta. Thank you. Thank you so much. OK, old friends of mine, Santosh Singh from The Indian Express. And I've just written a book on Karpuri Thakur, expert on Bihar. Rohit Singh is part of our India Today team here in Patna and knows everything that happens in Bihar. Thank you very much. Let's order. What should we have for breakfast? Very good. I love dahi while we await our breakfast. Food for thought back here after a while. How is this election of 2024 different to what we saw in 2019 Lok Sabha and particular and to some extent 2020 Vidhan Sabha? How is this election different? Rajiv, See what I have been getting a sense in 2019 there was some sort of a wave. That is all the Modi wave. Yeah, post Pulwama Balakot wave. OK we have to get this government back. But this time it appears like the situation is neutral. Its not in support of anyone. Its not that its completely in support of Modi or completely anti India alliance. That is so silent voter. Yes silent voter May Jaga Jata Suntown. No way there's a silent voter. What's the big difference You're seeing Santoshi. Of course there is Modi factor. Yet there is no Modi factor. So many local factors at play twice of candidates RGDMY. Plus they have given tickets to if you talk about Mahagathbandhan 6. So not just Muslim Yadav but trying to broaden their base from my they are trying to make it my MYK. Muslim Yadav. Pushva Lovely. Parwal Kabhujiya, Lovely. So what about Nitish Kumar then? Where is Nitish Kumar in all of this Rajiv? See, it is an asset or a liability. What I guess right now is that Nitish Kumar is no more an asset for the NDA itself because of the vote bank and just for creating a perception that now Nitish Kumar is not with the India alliance. Nitish Kumar and all that matter Mr. Modi, they have created a caste neutral consistency in women, In women, Yes, if you go to them, husband can vote on one side and wives can vote on another another side. I am told that Tejaswi has become a bit of a craze among the youth in Bihar. Is that true? Well, absolutely. Rajiv. See what happened in that. In the 17 months of Tejaswi Yadav being in the government, there is no denying the fact that jobs were provided, government jobs were provided. A lot of people became teachers. So almost 5,00,000 is that number who were given government jobs, who were recruited as teachers. So that is the basic plank on which Tejaswi is banking this time. So how many seats are you giving? What is the range Rajdeep, I think 39 is what NDA had got last time. But I think there will be, there will be some decline of maybe 6-7 seats maybe 3032 seats is what NDA can get this. OK, five to 10/5 to 10 optimistic than you step Bihar ka jadu kya hai Ki. There is no other state where I see politics in the air like in Bihar. What is the best thing about? The best thing is that every person in this state has a political opinion and a sharp one. Is that a sharp one? Absolutely. They can all be TV anchors. They can all be correspondent. What's the best thing about covering elections in Bihar? They would not open up. You have to make your ratings shallow. That is the challenge. I am now going to open up, therefore, with the food. This is lovely. I love this dahi with my shakkar and this chura. The sabzi is great and we've got Puri. This is almost a full meal. I may not even need lunch. Thank you Rohit Santosh for this wonderful conversation and all your insights on Bihar politics. As I said, up next, we are hitting the road and meeting the Gen. Next leaders of Bihar. You're watching elections on my plate. Enjoy. How are you? Good morning. Very well. The politician who wanted to be a film star. Well, I don't know whether I wanted, but then surely no one else wanted. But every time I see you, I think about your late father. And I remember, of course, that you wanted to be a film star one day. What's your first love? Film star? No, it has to be politics. I mean you can accuse me of being an hypocrite but but this is what I have seen all through my life and this is what comes naturally to me is the reason why I couldn't do anything good there when I was there. Nepo kid, I like the way you're one of the few politicians was openly admitted that you're a Nepo kid. That Rambila Jhiki blessings give I just say a politics man but you're slowly but surely carving out an image for yourself. Last couple of years has been tough but you you're now a crowd puller I believe. Well I would want to believe so and but then yes Papas blessings being there. Yes last 2-3 years were very very very difficult. But but before we share the story why don't we, Why don't you join me for the breakfast? Let's. OK, well we've already had one breakfast but the show is called Election on My Plate. To make extra breakfast for that please. Nice. So it's a typical behari breakfast something like this with aloo and everything mix and and this is with sattu in it first class. These are all your various chutneys. And so yes, I mean how's Bihar how's Bihar to but how Bihar is your 40 seats last time you all won 39 out of 40 this time. How many honest answer this time everybodys saying Tora to down Jana hai. So you know what I mean. I'm somebody who would do a lot of research myself and I worked with a lot of details and statistics myself. So now when I I'll say 40 out of 40, I mean before you cost question me on that, I'll give you an answer why Last time it was just three parties contesting together. In 2019 it was BJP, it was Janata United and it was Logan Shakti party, three of us. This time we five parties together. You know we have two other parties which last time were with the opposition. We have Jitana Majiji and we have Upendra Kushwaja. So in terms of alliance, we are a bigger and a stronger alliance this time and this makes me believe that that the one seat that we lost last time that was Kishan Gunj, so well be winning that as well. But the sense I get Chirag also is that this alliance is heavily dependent on Prime Minister Modi. He's your trump card. Its not about the Chief minister, its about the Prime Minister. Nitish Kumar is your weakness. Prime Minister Modi is your asset. Honest answer. No, no, no, no. The way you you know you said it definitely not. I mean see at least yes. When you say that my Prime Minister is a trump card, we have a trump card at least, you know, on the other side we have nobody. You yourself have been very critical of Nitish Kumar. You even took him on in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections. Is he a liability now whatever that you have said, honestly speaking, I don't agree to that. My chief minister has, I mean debatable less or more. But then he has made his own cadre. You know, he has been to his own support group and which is standing by by him very, very, very strongly is the reason why I would not want to believe that he's the weakling. Rather he has made our alliance even stronger. There are two young politicians, both were seen as Nepal kids at one time and both seem to be coming into their own. You're on one side, Tejasvi Yadav 1 the other. You see yourself as the future battle of Bihar Chirag Paswan versus Tejaswi Yadav. Could you come together one day? I don't see a competition honestly speaking. And I've been accused and blamed for the same because I I actually believe that its my extended family, you know, You know, I want to say something at the end. This is a very nostalgic because I remember coming here in the early 1990s and interviewing your late father and interviewing Laluji. At the time there was another Bihar election in the early 90s and here I am interviewing the next generation. Chirag Paswan will be now going and meeting the other Gen. Next leader here in Bihar elections on my plate. If the ruling alliance has put all its eggs in Narendra Modis basket for the opposition, their winning card is entirely focused on this man, Tejasvi Yadav. Addressing a punishing schedule of more than 10 to 11 rallies a day, Tejasvi Yadav at the age of 34 is clearly seen as a rising star of Bihars politics. If his father Lalu Prasad relied on the MY of Muslim Yadav alliance, Tejasvi is banking on the youth factor. Let's go and meet Tejaswi Yadav Tejaswi Yadav Agar Mein kahu ye one man SHO hai aapka har jaga Afrika naam opposition leader here. Yes, you are relying on a one man show this time Ek khatam khya Jai jumle baji khatamon Chai jumle baji Khatamogi Narendra Modi Ji hai or Sr. Result Taiga One point Agenda Paj Lag Nokia menace satta medi karaya A Chatter Person. Direction kisima teki amne Tourism policy Sports Policy Vinay IT. Policy Vinay Bihar Palibar. Investor Meat Cracker K 50,000 Chas Hazar Karolka Aman Nivesh Sankaraya. Department. Policy Department by call manata Ki baat or department Muslim Yadav Bhajan E Matla Vaadiya Vaadi tusra E Agra or PP Sepuar Bab Ek jharkar Mein Tesiya SAT ticket almost 30%. How are you managing with this back pain? I see you are in visible pain. When you get such so much love and support then you get lots of energy from them. And this is the secret. Actually I thought it was a secret from your cricket days, your fitness of the earlier days. You put on weight. Since then I am not that fit because I've been not working out really what I used to do it earlier. But yeah, I've been really working out. Well, today was my tenth rally and I guess this is the highest in Lok Sabha by any other leader. So let me ask you this. Apne kaagiye chunao hai. Tarasse Modi ko aapko hatana hai. Lekin kyaab mante hai Ki Lok Sabha. Mein utna asaniya vidhan Sabha. Chuna me apne Puri takarditi dosal do hazar bisme kya yeh chunam aapke liye trial hai do azar pachis ke vidhan Sabha. Is it about Modi versus Tejaswi and therefore Lok Sabha? More difficult, Divided rule, Hindu, Muslim and we want the agenda. Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. As you can see Tejaswi Yadav on the road where we've caught him. Not easy to track down Tejaswi given the crowds that have been swelling around him during this campaign. But that's the nature of this election campaign in Bihar. Almost reminds me of the days when I used to track Lalu Prasad. The only difference is 30 years earlier I was a lot younger. Let's go and then find out what the people on the street think about this election in Bihar. You're watching elections on my plate. Oh, lovely Kela I Rahul Gandhi. Nandini. Nandini Yeah. Again, some of the best watermelon that you get is, thank you, the best bananas that you can get in north Bihar. Producer Vivek Ko de Rao Main. Enjoy. OK, interesting opinions being exchanged here in the markets of rural Bihar. But I'm heading back to Patna because I want to go to Patna College where it started for many of Bihars political leaders. What does the Gen. next of Bihars urban youth think of this election? Let's go back to Patna patepur SE patta tiger naam lalu ke saath Patna lalu ho ya bhalu ho jab Tak samo SE Mein alu hai. Dab Tak election on plane Chanu hai Now while the Tejaswi Yadavs in the Chirag Paswans may be appealing to the young voter demographic, what does the Gen. Next of Bihar voters want? Remember in 2019, Narendra Modis victory was to a large extent driven by first time voters and those under 25. But the same voters in 2020 in Bihar appeared divided in the state election with Tejasvi getting a lot of support. What's the view this time? I've come to Patna College where remember the likes of Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar had cut their political teeth. Let's talk to some of the Gen. next voters here in Patna University. Kesio Kesio SAB bariya hai. Young generation Kiske Saathi, young Gandhi. AAP. Very good. Inspire now We failed at the job. Dr. Graduate Logan Manipur Jaladiya jobs Nitish Kumar to a time BJPK satrate Ek laluji ke satrate to aapko niti Jimi vishwa saik Yeah, OK Multiple voices here heard in the campus of Patna College and that's what makes Bihar so fascinating. Everyone here has a political opinion. But amidst all these varying opinions, there's been one constant political figure. And he continues to play a role in Bihars politics. We're going to try and find out the enigma that is Nitish Kumar. He may not speak to us, but there are those in his government who may well have a view on Nitish Kumar. Let's go and meet them. None now. The BJPS on off alliance with Nitish Kumar is one of the many mysteries of Bihar politics. In this election, the BJP is contesting only 17 of the 40 seats, giving the remaining 23 to Nitish and other allies. How is this alliance arithmetic going to really play out at election time? Let's go and meet the Gen. Next leader of the BJP, its deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary. How are you? Bar Bar Kataki? Jab Tak Nitish Kumar ko AAB mukhi mantri padse hatanga nahi AAP nahi Kumar ke Sarkar me AAP mantri hai. Mukhmantri hardika de karo hai Ki is Jo hamara moreta hai ko bhagwan Ram ko ayodhya mejake summer pit Karma karenge Nitish Kumar mukha mantri hai. Ekdam Nitish party keep this fair party. The vakti Amara commitment. Samrat Chaudhika, Commitment, commitment, pura hone ka baat. Thank you. Yoga, BJP KO. Nitish Kumar Ki. Nitish Kumar Ki BJP. Natural Alliance 1996. Bajpaar Santa Patika. Natural Alliance. Unnatural Alliance. RJDK. Sarjana Baraka Subzi JJ. Thank you. The result to Nitish Kumar Jani offer. Kiata Ki Biharma Baja Apniser Carbonale Commitment 39 out of 40 so 40 out of 4040 out of 40, 40 out of 4010 out of 10 there 40 out of 4010 out of 10. On the are the interesting acts very balkharam candidate lie lie lie very interesting but happy khel first class act Bharatha khel achar What more can you ask for? Elections on my plate You are with elections on my plate now. There is one unmistakable political reality of Bihar. It still is caste. Caste alignments almost seem frozen in time. Last year, the Bihar government brought out a caste survey that reflected socio economic realities of the state. Nearly 37% of the states population still survives on an average family income of just about ₹6000 a month. And the truth of the matter is that most of them belong to Dalit, Adivasi and extremely backward caste. Which is why we have come to this village in Hajipur, some 50 kilometers away from Patna, to meet up with a community of Musahas, among the poorest of the poor of Dalits, to find out what does an election really mean for them? Will anything change in their lives? Come with namaste Narendra Narendra Modi, Nitesh Kumar Tejaswi. OK, the the biggest change that I've seen from the time I came here first in 1995 to almost discover the way Musa has lived, was other roads. That's the biggest change I see. The roads are well paved. You have a few houses that are reasonably pakka, but people still live in straw huts like this here. Namaste. In fact, when Lalu Yadav first came to power in 1990, he had promised a special scheme for the Musa Hers. The scheme never really took off. Gas cylinder, gas cylinder, gas cylinder, gas cylinder, gas cylinder, cylinder, cylinder, cylinder again a familiar problem. Getting a refill is virtually impossible under the under the Ujwala Yojana because the price of LPG has gone up. Or the voices then here in Jamalpur village of Hajipur tell you in a way, the stark reality of Bihar and dare I say, India. We remain A grossly unequal society and no election is really going to change that, Certainly not overnight. Something for all of us to think about. Let's carry on. OK, we've been crisscrossing Hajipur and therefore we thought we'd have a male juice top. Male juice. Don't leave Bihar without it now. One of the great joys I've always experienced of covering elections in Bihar is that one moment you can be hit by the extreme poverty that continues to bedevil the state, but the next moment you can celebrate the rich cultural diversity of this historic land. A friend of mine has found out that I'm here in Hajipur in Vaishali district, and guess what? He's asked me to come and flavor the music of this rich land. And he's organized a low gayak and his troop for me to understand why Vaishali music is unique. Come with me shukriya Ki AAP or update team short notice for yeh kardiya merilee or janta ko Jana chaye Ki vaishali Ki khasiya kya hai. Bajika Baja Ghana gawane Wale ho or wobi AAP chunao ka Jo rang hai. OB dekhiye yeh ghane me thoda chuna ka rang dekai Ek bajka sojan SE apne basal jila ka chata ho Jahan SE Bharat ke cham Kal muke lali E bhaiya Jahan SE Bharat ke cham Kal muke lali E bhaiya. Hanne Sona jaisan hai. Jila baisali E bhaiya dhane Sona jaisan hai. Jilla baisali E bhaiya. Rang bhumiya paniya amrapali E bhaiya. Suna ho bhaiya apan butaba giraiya. Suna ho bhaiya. Apan butaba giraiya. Suna ho bhaiya, thank you very much. Thank you. So if you're in any part of India and you want a flavor of true Vaishali music, just call a vaising Dada Yeh Masaagiya. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Sir. I'm going to head back to Patna. You're watching elections on my plate. OK? Now, as night has fallen, our final stop is here in Dhanapur, a suburb of Patna. Time for dinner. And we have a choice. Either we go for the traditional litti choka, which I must confess I'm not a great fan of, or we go for champaran mutton. Guess what Rajdeep has chosen. Share Dilwale. Hi mutton khate hai sheer khabi khast nahi khata hai rajni pence. I'm afraid of sheer Come with me, sheer E mutton tiger mutton Curry all set. I'm going to tell you though my final takeaways on who's winning the battle for Bihar. But first, a little bit of dhadan handi deku deku ko naya Mumbai ka share. Share is going to have dhadan handi layout. Tiger tiger roti roti chutney pyaz hemu mirchi nice yeh weena baat tiger yeh weena baat habash lovely OK mutton Curry and roti just the way I like it. All set for dinner. You're perhaps said to know what exactly will happen in Bihar. So my answers to all the questions I raised at the start of the show. Prime Minister Modi is still undoubtedly a popular leader in this part of the country. 5 KG Rashan makes him very popular especially among the poor. When it comes to a Nitish Kumar, he's certainly vulnerable and his 16 JDU seats will be eyed closely by the opposition. Tejasvi Yadav is clearly a politician on the rise but perhaps will do even better in next years Vidhan Sabha elections. And remember there is a Mahila factor. The women both Prime Minister Modi and Nitish Kumar have quoted that constituency net net. I would say NDA still has the advantage in Bihar. But the truth is this isn't quite a one way fight as it was five years ago when the NDA had a 23 point lead. Its going to be more competitive and that's why Bihar is always interesting. On that note, from Vivek Alok, Praveen and the entire team on Elections on My plate, enjoy Maza Karo too Good Maza Ayya.