With an eye on upper caste votes, political parties in Bihar are gearing up to consolidate their support base much ahead of polls. The ruling party alliance headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who belongs to Janata Dal-U (JDU), on Monday, was the chief guest at an event “Rashtriya Swabhiman Diwas” to commemorate the death anniversary of the Rajput king and the warrior of Mewar Maharana Pratap here at the local Miller school ground.

A few days ago, Nitish Kumar had unveiled a life-size statue of Maharana Pratap in the heart of the state capital. The ruling JDU was the main organiser of the show. The party (JDU) has been trying to woo this community ahead of the general election in 2024.

The Rajput community in the state which traditionally voted for the Congress, has shifted their loyalty to the BJP after the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations, said a political analyst.

JDU MLC and the spokesman of the party Sanjay Singh was the main organiser of the show.

In the midst of the CM’s address, a visibly agitated crowd on the ground started shouting slogans like “Anand Mohan ko Rihaa karo”,  “Jab Tak Rihaa nahi karoge, tab tak koyee baat nahi sunenge”. (Release our leader Anand Mohan from jail. We will not listen to you until you release him).

Anand Mohan is a strong Rajput leader in the state. The former MP is currently in Saharsa jail serving life term allegedly in a case of murder of one, Gopalganj DM G Krishnaiah. On December 5, 1994, district magistrate (DM) Krishnaiah was assaulted and lynched by an irate mob on the main highway near Muzaffarpur. Anand Mohan, a strongman, had allegedly instigated the mob to attack the DM. Six people, including Anand Mohan and his wife, were charged in the case.

In 2007, the Patna High Court convicted Anand Mohan and sentenced him to death. His sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment in 2008. The convict was the founder of its regional party – Bihar People’s Party (BPP).

Visibly irritated by the slogan shouting, Nitish kumar was seen asking the agitated crowd to keep quiet. “Tum logon ko kuchh maloom nahi hai chup raho.” (You people don’t know anything. Keep quiet).

“I am trying my level best. If you don’t believe me, ask his wife (Lovely Singh),” he said and added that soon after his arrest “we along with some leaders including George Fernandes had gone to jail to meet him. My best wishes are with him. We are trying”.

A sizable number of Rajputs coming from different parts of the state had gathered here at the event. A huge cutout was put up including Maharana Pratap riding on horse carrying sword in his hand.

Now, another show of strength will be held in Patna next month to be attended by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, this time for the Bhumihar caste. Another powerful landed upper caste –  Bhumihars – are traditionally a vote bank of the BJP, but recent bypoll results have revealed that a major segment of Bhumihar votes has shifted to the RJD. The dwindling vote base of BJP has become a worrying factor for Opposition leaders.

Another Bhumihar BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member, Vivek Thakur, has decided to organise the birth anniversary of great Kisan leader Swami Sahajanand Saraswati in Patna on February 22. Last week, he had met Shah to confirm his visit.

Swami Sahjanand Saraswati is considered one of the icons of Bhumihar caste. He was the pioneer of Bihar Kisan Sabha movement and was the first president of the all India Kisan Sabha when the movement was started in Bihar. In the year 1929, Sahajanand had formed Bihar Privincial Kisan Sabha.

Swamiji’s ashram was located in modern Bihta barely 40 km away from Patna. Vivek Thakur, MP, while addressing a sect of media persons, has already demanded that the state government should rename Bihta as Swami Sahajanand Nagar.

Former IPS officer Amitabh k Das called it unfortunate that legendary personalities are now associated with a particular caste. These personalities are above castes, Das told a section of media.

Now, many more caste rallies are in the pipeline in Bihar to woo different communities.