Bihar: Population and People

Churning without Change THOUGH it was not unexpected, the detonation of sophisticated explosives by the ultra-left groups active in south and central Bihar during the first phase of polling in the state, resulting in the death of 50-odd persons, mostly security personnel, was a more trenchant indictment of the state of political democracy obtaining in the state than the ruckus over the alleged circulation of fake ballot papers. The credibility of the electoral process in Bihar has been severely dented over the years not only by rampant malpractices but also by the proven ineffectiveness of the state apparatus in the face of the regular poll-boycott calls given by the extremist groups. Yet elections in Bihar continue to generate excitement since the state sends the second largest number of legislators to parliament among all the states, because of which all political parties share a vested interest in maintaining the electoral facade in the state, even though they fail to address the state