BJP's defeat

This is in reference to the article "BJP thrashed in Bihar" (November 16). The writer has cited many reasons such as the row over beef, the killing of three innocent Muslims, and creating a sense of insecurity for the minorities for BJP's defeat. But he has failed to analyse the real causes. As per opinions expressed by many independent political observers over the week, the debacle of BJP in Bihar happened mainly for three reasons, namely, Lalu-Nitish compromise, en bloc voting of Muslims and the Bihari vs Bahari campaign which influenced the Bihari sentiment significantly.

Considering Bihar's demographic and cast-based society, Lalu and Nitish have considerable clout among the very poor and the section of people who belong to the same cast as them. In the last Lok Sabha election, both of these leaders faced virtual elimination from the political scene. That compelled them to unite against BJP.

M. K. Barua
India