CPI (M-L) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya became actively involved in politics after joining the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. He served as the general secretary of the Indian Peoples Front and later headed the party’s trade union wing – the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU).

In 1987, he was elected to both the central committee and political bureau of the CPI (M-L) Liberation. Following the sudden demise of the party’s General Secretary Vinod Mishra in 1998, Bhattacharya was unanimously chosen to succeed him. In an exclusive interview with Imran Mojib of The Statesman, the Left leader discusses why Bihar’s upcoming assembly election is crucial for India, its constitution, freedom and democracy, as envisaged by the founding fathers of the Indian republic.

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Q: How do you look at this year’s assembly elections in Bihar?

A: The BJP and the RSS have their agenda – the fascist agenda. We have not yet seen the full fury of this agenda. To execute their agenda, they need Bihar. Till now they have been playing second fiddle to Nitish Kumar. But they have used Kumar to the hilt. And the Bihar chief minister has not been able to check the BJP, the RSS, or their evil designs in Bihar. Now, they would like to grab power in Bihar in 2025, West Bengal in 2026 and UP in 2027 – these three elections are going to be very crucial. As the RSS has started celebrating its centenary, it has launched a campaign against the Constitution. Since the Constitution emerged from the freedom movement, they are negating the entire legacy of the movement as well. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently said that real independence came only after the Ram temple. Look at the way (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi has been mortgaging India’s national pride and interest to the US. To achieve their entire goal, they need Bihar. So this election is not going to be for Bihar alone, it is going to be an election for India, to defend the Constitution, democracy and freedom.

Q: Do you hope this election will bring about a change?

A: Bihar is looking for a change. People are fed up with the NDA government which has ruled the state for about 20 years. Whatever this government has promised – ‘sushasan’ and ‘nyay ke saath vikas’ (good governance and development with justice) – is missing on the ground. Injustice is everywhere. Nitish Kumar made a promise of no compromise on 3Cs–crime, corruption and communalism. When you go to the ground, you will find he has not only compromised but actually served a cocktail of it. The caste survey conducted by the government revealed widespread poverty in the state where more than 94 lakh families, which is 34 per cent of Bihar’s population, survive on a total monthly income of Rs 6,000 or less. Another 30 per cent inhabitants of the state are surviving on Rs 10,000 monthly income. So two-thirds of the population is surviving for less than Rs 10,000 a month. Bihar was ready for this change in the 2020 elections. Kumar escaped it marginally. Even in 2024, his last minute somersault created political confusion in Bihar. Despite that, the anti-BJP coalition got 10 seats, which was a significant improvement compared to the 2019 poll results.

Q: What are the major talking points of this election?

A: The Bihar government has failed to keep its promise of paying one-time financial relief of Rs 2 lakh to over 94,000 families. Land survey in the state has heightened insecurities for the landless as well as for those who have some land. It was equivalent to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. It has posed danger of displacement on a large scale. Land acquisition without proper compensation in the name of Bharatmala project, Ram Janki Path, railway track, smart city and other development projects, is going on. Prime Minister Modi had promised a house for all by 2022, but it is still not achieved. Housing, electricity, and drinking water are still a dream for many. Job vacancies for the namesake, no job security or domicile policy or new colleges show the government’s apathy towards the youth. After the caste census in Bihar, 65 per cent reservation was endorsed by all parties, but it was struck down by the High Court. The only way out is to include it in the ninth schedule like Tamil Nadu did. But the Bihar government did not do it. Children were waiting for schools, but they did not establish new schools as it did not suit their political agenda. People have been struggling with these issues. But when the election comes, the BJP’s communal polarization overpowers all these issues. That is why our attempt is to bring these issues to the forefront. We have been running campaigns for quite some time. I hope this election will change the scenario forever.

Q: Are you hopeful of Mahagathbandhan allies staying together, especially after Congress’s poll strategy in Haryana and Delhi?

A. Bihar is one state where we have functional alliances and are doing well. We could have done well in 2024, but Nitish Kumar’s last minute somersault made a difference. We joined coalition politics in 2020 and after the election results, people thought we should have got a bigger share. That could have helped us change the government as our performance was much better than the Congress. We got 19 seats and won 12, while the Congress got 70 seats and won only 19. Similarly in the 2024 general elections, we got three seats and won two. I hope the seat sharing arrangements will be made on the basis of ground realities. The Congress has been the biggest opposition party. Without a stronger Congress, you cannot dethrone the BJP from power in Delhi. But, the grand old party should also realize that it can grow only in alliance with a whole range of parties because the situation is different in states.

Q: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad has been seen making overtures to Nitish Kumar. Will the JD(U) join ranks with the Mahagathbandhan once again?

A: I do not see it happening just because Lalu is saying so. He has taken so many U-turns that any rumour or speculation about Nitish Kumar now fails to create an impact. Nitish Kumar no longer invokes that kind of enthusiasm or goodwill that he used to 15 years ago. Now he carries the huge baggage of betrayal and unfulfilled promises. He has been a great enabler for the BJP in Bihar and in national politics. Even now, when Modi is there, he along with Chandrababu Naidu are the biggest enablers of the saffron party.

Q: During the 2020 Bihar polls, Lalu was in jail. Now that he is free, do you see him playing an active role in the opposition alliance?

A: True, he was in jail during the 2020 assembly polls. But Magathbandhan did much better in 2020 than the 2024 Lok Sabha election when he was free to play an active role. He has his own reputation. He has his own track records and experience. But the time has changed. The situation has changed. Now the new generation leaders across all parties are doing well. Even in the Janata Dal (United), they are talking about the possible entry of Nishant, son of Nitish Kumar.

Q: What do you think about the electoral prospects of Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party?

A: Just before the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 when the BJP was seen losing ground, Kishor suddenly started saying that the BJP is going to win 300 seats or so. That was not just a professional miscalculation. He misused his own reputation to provide advantage to the BJP. That was the first stance when people got alerted.