Suspension of Municipal Elections in Bihar is a BJP Conspiracy
CPIML held statewide protests in Bihar on 8 October against suspension of ongoing urban local bodies’ elections. The state Election Commission has ordered suspension of elections in all 263 urban local bodies following a Patna High Court order regarding fulfilment of three conditions for the OBC reservations in local bodies known as the ‘triple test’. These were set as mandatory by the Supreme Court in January 2022 for deciding OBC quotas. Then BJP was in the government in Bihar and the Urban Development Department was headed by none other than BJP’s appointed minister. This department was supposed to act in line with SC Order and to comply with the State Election Commission’s communique in this regard. But the BJP decided to do nothing jeopardising political rights of the Other Backward Caste and Most Backward Caste sections in the state.
CPIML Bihar State Secretary Kunal also criticised this decision of the state election commission terming it an outcome of BJP’s conspiratorial manoeuvres to deprive backward and most backward castes in the state of their constitutional democratic rights. This ‘triple test’ includes to submit a study report on the existing nature of backwardness in local bodies, a Commission to identify and report on political backwardness to the state government followed by a notification for reservations in local bodies, and to comply with general quota norms set by the SC ie. the quantum of reservations should not exceed 50% of total. It was not difficult to comply with these but the ruling BJP simply avoided it during it tenure in power. The State Election Commission has its share in not fulfilling the required conditions by not forcing the concerned government for complying before declaring the elections.
When the preparations and campaigning for the elections were at peak, when candidates and parties had declared candidates, many of whom even filed nomination papers, then suddenly amidst all this State Election Commission first declared cancellation of elections on reserved seats and later a full suspension of elections for all reserved and unreserved seats.
CPIML said that the BJP has succeeded in manipulating judiciary and state election commission in putting hurdles in way of OBC reservations. The CPIML also questions the decision by the state election commission to halt the process of elections which were declared by itself. There was enough time to fulfil all the requirements before the election process was started. This is nothing but deliberately creating hurdles in way of deprived sections’ political participation and the reservations. There is no dispute in accepting the fact that the OBCs and MBCs are condemned to live in very backward and deprived conditions in the state. They have been given reservations in jobs and educational institutions but are now being denied for the same in political sphere in spite of the fact that their historical backwardness is undisputed.
Bihar was supposed to hold a caste census very soon. The Patna High Court could have given an order to expand census questions to include ‘triple test’ conditions in order to fulfil a judicial obligation, but to postpone the whole election process when crores of rupees were already spent by the election machinery as well as thousands of candidates and parties amounts not only to harm democratic process but also has posed huge financial losses.
Bihar had already witnessed three local bodies election since 2007 when the rules for the same were formulated including reservations for the OBCs. Moreover, since 2007 to August 2022 the Urban Development Ministry was always headed by BJP ministers and the ‘triple test’ order passed initially by the Supreme Court in 2010, BJP never bothered to take appropriate ministerial action to fulfil those conditions for local bodies elections. Now this party is in opposition and shedding crocodile tears for the OBCs. The current election process began when BJP-JDU government was in power in the state.
Comrade Kunal said that the BJP is trying to disrupt social and political life in Bihar. The conspiratorial manipulation of current urban body elections by it goes against the wellbeing of the people of Bihar. BJP had opposed caste census to be held in Bihar, if it had agreed to this popular and just demand then the current impasse in way of an important democratic process would not have arisen.
The CPIML held protests in all the centres of Bihar demanding to hold urban body elections without delay. Protests were held in Patna and other cities on 8 October. The CPIML has called this postponement a BJP ploy to curb the Right to Reservations in the state. In Patna hundreds of people including senior ML leaders and many MLAs took part in the demonstration.
