Bihar’s electoral battles should be about land, not caste alone

P ick up any newspaper, scroll through social media, or attend a rally in Bihar ahead of the elections , and you will see a familiar political playbook in action.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) continues to field candidates from its core base — Yadavs and Muslims. But recognising the limits of this strategy, it now promises government jobs to a population desperate for steady income . Years of poor economic growth have forced millions to migrate out of Bihar in search of work. The RJD hopes to raise a fevered pitch on this subject and win support from an electorate for whom migration has become a major issue.

The Congress, having lost its erstwhile support bases among ‘forward castes’ to the BJP, has brought its national narrative to Bihar: inclusivity, constitutional values, and se