A Game of Political Poker in Bihar

Not so long ago, we were discussing about the heroic victory of AAP in the capital city, thanks to their hit man Arvind Kejriwal, put on your seat belts guys and  girls, it's not over yet. We are yet to witness the battle ground in one of the most volatile states in India, Bihar. It is staging ground for the war of unlikely rivals. Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is believed to have the numbers to form a stable government in order to continue his reign in Bihar. Nitish Kumar, his predecessor, thinks the other way round in this critical political scenario. This political turbulence is happening months before the elections scheduled for Bihar. Mr. Manjhi has simply compelled the caste based politics in the Hindi heartland by taking all the credit of good governance and social empowerment among the lower caste population. Nitish's resignation as the Chief Minister of Bihar way back in May 2014 has done more harm than good. He surely haven't seen this coming for sure. Mr Manjhi's harsh decisions have hit his predecessor very hard and this started an interesting rivalry. It is going to be an uphill task for Mr Kumar on Feb 20 when he has to prove his numbers in front of the legislative assembly. Some of you might remember the trust vote which happened in the Parliament in 2008, which is still known as the darkest day in the history of the sacred building. It was also famously known as the Cash for Vote scandal. You might watch the repeat telecast in the Bihar Legislative assembly, where people will buy MLA's in for their trust in front of the speaker. The BJP government will surely watch this with full interest, after what happened to them in Delhi. Bihar has always been a priority for Amit Shah and Co. and he would surely take this very seriously. They would look to play it with a straight bat after their performance in 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Bihar. This simply looks like a game of poker with a national attention, and it will surely have a national resonance in prospect.