The Mountains Are High And The Emperor Is Far Away

In China this is a commonly used proverb in the outlying provinces which are furthest away from Beijing.

The Bihar election has once again proved as it does time and time again in elections around the world, that what matters most to the local electorate is what affects them on a day to day to basis. They could not be bothered whether President Obama says " India has emerged" or whether the United States will support India's attempt at a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council .

They care about whether they have roads which allow them to take their produce to the market, do they have schools for their children, is the government able to provide them security , are they able to get employment close by home instead having to go to far away places ?

Nitish Kumar in his first term understood and concentrated on this. Among his initiatives was the building of roads, improving the law and order situation, focusing on education- including that of girls. He empowered the economically backward classes and women  by reserving 20%  and 50 % respectively,  of the seats in the village councils and urban local bodies.He overhauled the judiciary to ensure that the law and order cases were fast tracked and culprits brought to court.

This  resulted in his party and his alliance partner cornering a historic  206 out of the 243 seats  in the state assembly.There is a lesson  for the other political parties.If Bihar can do it , surely so can they ?