People of Bihar will be voting to elect representatives to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) after a gap of more than two decades. Much has changed in Bihar since, much has remained the same. The erstwhile toothless Panchayats tottered on the political horizon of Bihar for sometime before crumbling like most of the other institutions of Bihar. It goes to the 'credit' of the ruling elite of Bihar that despite being made constitutionally mandatory after the 73rd amendment, they could manage to withhold elections to PRI for so long. Mesmerised under a carefully orchestrated atmosphere of belligerent and status quoist caste identity, Bihar languishes under a backward feudal social structure increasingly dominated by the middle-castes.

With the passage of time however, the individualised and centralised mode of distribution of patronage in Bihar has failed to satisfy the emergent middle castes at the rural level. The rumblings of this discontentment could be heard in the gradual disenchantment of a large block of middle castes with Laloo Prasad and the RJD. Under the ruling dispensation in Bihar, the cream of the state's booty and bounty was being skimmed off by a very miniscule section of people close to Laloo Prasad. Over a period of time, it had become increasingly difficult for the ruling elite to keep off the other members of the influential middle castes from demanding their share in the power and privileges of the state machinery. Combined with this, the constitutional process set rolling by the Panchayati Raj constitution amendment bill meant that the government must hold the election to the Panchayati Raj bodies in Bihar.

The month of April will see the election to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI). Almost 4 Lac candidates are reported to be in the fray for various tiers of the 8000 Panchayat seats in the truncated Bihar. Passing through Bihar one can not help noticing the tremendous excitement and expectation that it has generated. It is quite understandable though, that in a state where the public space has been shrinking, the possibility of having an institution that might ensure a modicum of people's control over their own lives would be welcomed. It's also true that there are a large number of people who really don't believe that election will be held owing to a number of cases filed against the election notification. While the skepticism about the efficiency and the actual devolution of power to the PRIs remains, there is no doubt that it has come as an important milestone in the saga of decay and degradation that symbolises Bihar today.

It is true that the meaning and implication of Panchayat elections in Bihar can be understood only in the context of the prevailing socio-political reality of the state. For instance the role of PRIs in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh will have to be understood very differently because these institutions have evolved there over a period of time. A consensus candidate in Madhya Pradesh may very well mean that the people of the Panchayat have come together to elect a person who will really be respected by all. In Bihar, however, it would be interesting to see and plot the Panchayats which have got consensus candidates during the current elections. A number of Panchayats in Purnia, Begusarai, Samastipur, Siwan and Munger districts will have unopposed Mukhia for the Gram Panchayats. Most of these 'consensus' Mukhia are the local dons, musclemen and criminals against whom no body will dare file a nomination. In a befitting recognition of the ground reality of Bihar, the government has decided to accord these Mukhia a special status after the elections are over. It is also true that in a large number of cases, there is a tacit support of the dominant castes for such candidates and the smaller castes are too weak to oppose them on their own strength. For these Mukhia, the PRI is the stepping stone to the legitimate loot that lies potentially ahead. The reassuring fact, however, is that this is an exception and in most of the places, there is a healthy fight awaiting popular verdict with people acutely aware of the potential power of these institutions.

Against the backdrop of the fact that almost all the institutions of civil society and state have been reduced into non-entities, the emergence of the institutions of Panchayati Raj in Bihar can trigger off a wave of far reaching changes in the attitude and approach of people towards the issues of development. It is also bound to change the way people view their role Vis a Vis the government and politics at large.

The unique feature of the institution of Mukhia lies in the fact that it is a very close amalgam of the social and the political. A reflection of this fusion of the social and the political is seen in the number of candidates of the dominant caste. A Yadav dominated village has got a number of candidates from the Yadav community while the smaller communities generally have one candidate for the post of Mukhia. The victory of the dominant caste candidate will crucially depend on the support that a candidate is able to muster among the other smaller castes. The social standing of the candidate, his perceived effectiveness with the bureaucracy and the 'higher govt.' will be among the factors that will play a major role in this election.

Another dimension of this fusion of the social and the political in the post of Mukhia is that after the elections it will not be possible for a Mukhia to shake off his social linkages in discharging his duties as Mukhia. Unlike an MP or MLA, the Mukhia and other members of the PRI can not escape to Patna or Delhi to ward off the social pressure and conveniently appear at the time of elections. It will be interesting to see how the replacement of the impersonal and insulated DM and BDO and the too distant MP and MLA with a 'rooted' Mukhia changes the power matrix in the hinterland of Bihar. The tighter and closer social control, it is hoped, will reintegrate the people's real aspirations with the politics and institutions of state.

The Panchayat elections in Bihar, because of the factors underlined above, can in fact lead to a emergence and realignment of forces at the village level which could be very different from what prevails now at the state and central levels. This on the one hand will soften the social polarisation in Bihar based on caste, on the other hand new fault lines are bound to emerge in the rural society based on real issues concerning the life of the people. This realignment entails a possibility of unleashing forces of transformation and resistance that are grounded in the objective realities of social and economic factors in rural Bihar.

The writer can be contacted at rakujha@yahoo.com

(The views expressed here are of the author only and in no way reflect the views of the organisation for which I work-Author)