2024 House of Representatives Elections

The BJP-led NDA government was sworn in on Sunday after a fiercely contested marathon election. Some allies have already spoken out. Senior RJD and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj K. Jha talked D.H. Shemin Joy on the new government, his party’s performance in Bihar and preparations for the state assembly elections.

The Modi government has been sworn in. Do you think the BJP has calmed down with this government coming into power?

First of all, I don’t agree with your description that this is the Modi government. Even Modi himself has stopped calling it the Modi government. He calls it the NDA government. It is the very fact that someone who has always loved to speak in the language of “I, myself” has been forced to bring in the idea of ​​a collective, i.e. NDA. Now you can see what this government has actually achieved.

So, are you saying the BJP government has no powers?

Look, you set a very high target – 350 seats on your own and 400 with your allies. The results show that you have been badly hurt. People have told you that this is an arrogant statement. This is taking democracy and the will of the people for granted. You (BJP) are struggling with 240 seats, which is 32 seats short of a majority. So frankly, people have sent a message to the Prime Minister to tone down his words. Indians are not used to rhetoric like mujras and mangalsutras. You should talk about core issues that affect people’s lives and livelihoods. This message is for the BJP. If they do not read this, I have no hesitation in saying that you will lose 40 seats in the next elections.

You say this result is a message to the BJP, but what message do you think this election sends to India as a whole?

The first message is that we need to get a little more serious about preparation. Second, we have been very effective in getting our message across to the general electorate. We should intensify this effort going forward. Third, we should always maintain a collective mindset. This is the phrase at the beginning of our constitution: “We the people.” I think the people have spoken. They are ready to hand over the reins to us. We just need a few more seats to close the gap.

However, the election results in Bihar have not been very favourable for the RJD and the All India camp. What is the reason for this?

Look, compare our election results with those of 2019. Back then, the margin of victory for the BJP was over 3 lakh votes except in a few seats, but now it has come down to a few thousand votes. This in itself is a major victory. We are analysing polling station level data and will go into detailed analysis. We were aiming to win at least 15 to 18 seats, but we managed to win only 10. Perhaps multiple factors were at work. In fact, last time it was zero. So it has been a journey from there and has been a shock to the BJP in many places. Three-term, four-term MPs have been defeated. Apart from leaders of other parties, Tejashwi of RJD was the star of this election campaign. Despite the pain, he continued. The results may not be as per our expectations, but this will not be the first and last election. We are on an upward trend and will be seen more effectively in the coming days.

You say you have prepared thoroughly for the Bihar assembly elections. What specifically have you learnt from Bihar this time?

This should be put on record. Tejashwi Yadav’s continuous engagement on the employment issue and his appeal to the people has actually made the Prime Minister very nervous. Now Tejashwi is not going to back away from the issue. When the next elections are held in Bihar, our campaign will be solely focused on issues of life and livelihood and employment will be the most important issue. We will be entering this field probably within the next 3-4 weeks.

There is an interesting comparison of the performance of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the RJD in Bihar. It is said that the SP won more seats through social engineering, while the RJD failed in social engineering. Is this analysis correct?

This is a hasty analysis. If you look only at the numbers and do not look at the context of the numbers, such an analysis will not hold up. We are very happy with what has happened in Uttar Pradesh, but I must say that Bihar is a different state. We have different challenges and we understand that. We have addressed those challenges quite well. With regards to social coalitions in Bihar, we have actually made significant interventions in terms of social coalitions. The results were not immediately visible, but I am sure that they will be seen very effectively in the next Bihar Assembly elections.

With the number of opposition parties soaring, can we expect Parliament to change?

For the first time in a decade, Parliament will look like Parliament. I hope everyone, including the Speaker, knows what the will of the people is. The will of the people is overwhelming support for the opposition. For the ruling party, it means a PM with a majority is not a majority. This should be reflected in the debate. Bills should not be passed in five minutes. As per the earlier practice, bills should be scrutinised. There can be no ‘my way or else I will get my way’ attitude. They are bound to respond to the call for dialogue, because that is the message of the Indian electorate.

Do you think Nitish Kumar has also got this message?How will the TDP, JD(U) impact how the government is run?

Everyone is getting the message. Have you heard any Hindu-Muslim rhetoric in the mainstream media in the last five-six days? I can say that despite my differences with Nitish, the Prime Minister and his ministers cannot continue to talk about Hindus and Muslims as they did before. There is a Minister in Bihar. I have not heard him speak about Hindus and Muslims in the last five days. I think it is another message from the electorate that has once again curbed divisive and polarising rhetoric.

There are a lot of issues going on in the first day of the NDA government. Do you think this coalition government will work?

Be careful. I have been telling people that this is actually a marriage of convenience. In fact, it is a marriage of contradictions and such marriages do not last. There are no signs of divorce in the early stages of the marriage i.e. honeymoon period. N Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) and Nitishji (JD-U) come from a special socio-political background which does not lend itself to the personality-centric megalomaniacal politics perpetuated by the Chief Minister.