The battle for Yadav votes in Bihar has intensified with the BJP fielding as many as 22 candidates from the community so far.

The battle for Yadav votes in Bihar has intensified with the BJP fielding as many as 22 candidates from the community so far. Cracks were visible in the community, for long a formidable support base of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, in the general elections of 2014. If there was a message in Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Yadav losing in strongholds Saran and Pataliputra respectively, the BJP clearly does not want any of it go to waste in the assembly elections.

While it could be argued that the additional seats for the community – in 2010, the BJP had fielded less than ten – has to do with the fact that the party is contesting 160 seats, much more than 101 it fought for last time, the party’s decision could be to address the changing dynamic among the Yadav voters. A lot has changed since those elections. Lalu appears to be losing his position of pre-eminence in the community and there are challengers now; there’s a constituency of younger Yadavs who do not exactly think the same way as the older generation; and there’s a hint of urban-rural divide too.

The biggest development in the last year, however, is the marriage of convenience between Lalu and Nitish Kumar. Perceived as a brilliant social engineering strategy, it seems to be in rough waters now. A combination of Yadavs, Kurmis and Muslims was believed to be an unbeatable one in Bihar’s caste dominated politics. Now there are indications that while the leaders might have buried the past the come together, it’s not the case with the caste groupings they represent.

Yadavs and Kurmis have been at loggerheads over the last decade, ever since Nitish Kumar assumed power. The latter called the RJD rule in Bihar ‘jungle raj’ and then went about selectively targeting RJD leaders in corruption cases. He also reopened the disproportionate assets case against Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi. The Yadavs are wary of Nitish and his politics even now, no matter what their leader may think. Lalu has potential challengers in Ram Kripal Yadav and Pappu Yadav. The latter quit the RJD not long ago citing dynastic rule in the party.

The scattering away of Yadav votes among many contenders helps the BJP’s cause. It also perceives yearning for change in a section of the community. The young leaders it has put up helps it articulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on the youth, mostly a caste-neutral constituency these days. BJP president Amit Shah's effort to provide his party, always identified with the upper caste, an inclusive image had paid rich dividends in 2014. The number of Yadavs in the list shows he wants to continue with the image.