'Biharis Stopped BJP's Bulldozer'

'Bihar today has erected a barrier against BJP bulldozing the polity, the Constitution, and Opposition parties.'

"Given their nature, the BJP will continue to use Bihar as its Hindutva Laboratory. That's why this government has to get its act together on the administrative front," Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, which has 12 MLAs in the Bihar assembly, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com in the second of a three-part exclusive interview about the political developments in Bihar where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Janata Dal-United pulled out of its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and formed a government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress and the support of other parties in the state assembly.

• Part 1 of the interview: 'For the BJP, Nitish was a use-and-throw politician'

Is the Mahagatbandhan prepared for Nitish Kumar's next flip-flop because that is what he has been doing with the NDA and Mahagatbandhan with regular consistency?

One can look at history as a reference point. I don't really see why he should change (alliances) again. If he changes again, that will be the end of Nitish Kumar. That'll be the end of Nitish Kumar's political journey.

Given the mature politician that he is, why should he commit such kind of political harakiri?

But that is exactly what he has been doing time and again and yet surviving, and surviving as a chief minister.

Yes, I agree he has been surviving as a chief minister; he is the most experienced man out there right now and people (of Bihar) have accepted him. This time, it is some kind of ghar wapsi (homecoming) and people have again accepted him.

He feels he is home now after having suffocated himself as chief minister in alliance with the BJP.

I know I am belabouring this point, but that is exactly what he said when he quit the alliance with the RJD to jump onto the BJP bandwagon?

That's for him to explain. We are happy that he is back in the Mahagatbandhan.

He has been taking on Amit Shah, Narendra Modi, the RSS and all its top leadership with full force.

Doesn't it also smack of opportunism on Nitish Kumar's part as well as the RJD and Congress to join hands together just so that they can capture power in Bihar?

The most urgent task before the Mahagatbandhan was to free Bihar from BJP's communal, fascist, dictatorial, agendas.

We were watching how suffocated Nitish Kumar was becoming under their shadow. Had the BJP not tried to finish off the JD-U so audaciously this (Nitish Kumar rejoining the Mahagatbandhan) would not have happened.

Given their nature, the BJP will continue to use Bihar as its Hindutva Laboratory. That's why this government has to get its act together on the administrative front and for us (the parties opposed to the BJP) on the political front.

Now that we have rid Bihar of the BJP, the people of Bihar will be looking forward to us for development, jobs, social and economic equality. These will be our main challenges for the next three years.

What impact could these developments in Bihar have on the 2024 Lok Sabha election and 2025 assembly election?

Nitish Kumar's homecoming will have national impact. It will lead to realignment of social and political forces. We will emerge a formidable front and the BJP will be completely isolated in Bihar.

This reality will reflect in the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 Bihar elections.

I don't see the BJP scoring the kind of victory it had scored in 2014 and 2019 (Lok Sabha elections); it should have a cascading effect across North India.

Right now we have proved that it is still possible to stop the BJP. Bihar has done it. Biharis have proved it is still possible to stop the BJP's bulldozer politics.

Bihar today has erected a barrier against the BJP bulldozing the polity, the Constitution, and Opposition parties.

This will help galvanise opposition across India. The Bihar Experiment should inspire all anti-BJP forces across India.

• Part 3: 'BJP will try to destabilise Nitish Kumar'