Indian Politics & Policy Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2020 | Page 89

The Backwards Turn Right in the Hindi Belt: Trajectories and Implications
23 Gail Omvedt, “’Twice-Born’ Riots Against Democracy,” Economic and Political Weekly 25
(1990): 2195-2201
24 Sanjay Kumar, “A Shift towards Regionalization of Indian Politics,” in Handbook of Politics in
Indian States, ed. Sudha Pai (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2013), 147
25 On the coverage and sample size of NES series, please visit www.lokniti.org.
26 Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was the national president of the JD and also the chief minister of
Bihar, broke away from the JD and founded his own party (RJD) in 1997.
27 Sanjay Kumar, Mohd. Sanjeer Alam and Dhananjay Joshi, “Caste Dynamics and Political Processes
in Bihar,” Journal of Indian School of Political Economy 20 (2008). 1-32
28 Sanjay Kumar, “BJP Crafts a New Social Coalition in Bihar,” Economic and Political Weekly 49
(2014): 95–98.
29 Ghanshyam Shah. “Social Backwardness and Politics of Reservation,” Economic and Political
Weekly 28 (1991): 601-10.
30 Christophe Jafferlot, India’s Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India (Delhi:
Permanent Black, 2003).
31 For instance, out of 900 teachers appointed by Mulayam Singh Yadav during his second term
in power, 720 were Yadavs. Similarly, in the police forces, out of 3,151 newly selected candidates,
1,223 were Yadavs (Indian Today, October 15, 1999, 37). Such selective favouritism was
also apparent in Bihar, where Yadavs were appointed in key positions. Most of government
tenders/contracts also went to Yadavs. Walter Hauser, “General Elections 1996 in Bihar: Politics,
Administrative Atrophy and Anarchy,” Economic and Political Weekly 32 (1997): 2599–
607.
32 A.N. Das, “Still Paying Old Debts”, The Telegraph, June 6, 1997; Jafferlot, India’s Silent Revolution.
33 When Lalu Prasad demitted from the office of chief minister of Bihar due to a fodder scam,
he chose his wife, who could barely speak in public, as his successor. In UP, members of the
extended family of Mulayam Singh Yadav have been at the helm of party affairs.
34 A.K. Verma, “Backward Caste Politics in Uttar Pradesh,” Economic and Political Weekly 40
(2005): 3889–92.
35 Jafferlot, India’s Silent Revolution.
36 A.K. Verma, “UP: BJP’s Caste Card,” Economic and Political Weekly 36 (2001): 4452–55.
37 Jasmine Zerinini, “The Marginalization of Savarnas in Uttar Pradesh?” in Rise of the Plebians?
The Changing Face of Legislative Assemblies, ed. Christophe Jaffrelot and Sanjay Kumar (London:
Routledge, 2009): 27–64.
38 “Nityanand Rai Appointed as New Bihar BJP Chief,” The Pioneer, December 1, 2016, https://
www.dailypioneer.com/2016/india/nityanand-rai-appointed-as-new-bihar-bjp-chief.html.
39 Suhas Palshikar, “Towards Hegemony: BJP Beyond Electoral Dominance,” Economic and Political
Weekly 53 (2018): 36–42.
40 Mohd. Sanjeer Alam and Rakesh Ranjan, “NDA’s Big Victory in Bihar,” Economic and Political
Weekly 54 (2019): 18–21.
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