Best known for Mahatma Gandhi’s first Satyagraha, Champaran became notorious in the 1980s and 1990s for a series of violent incidents such as banditry and kidnapping, with several criminal gangs controlling the area until 2005.
Besides unemployment, law and order concerns are also triggering migration, with Bihar ranking second in the country after Uttar Pradesh in terms of the number of migrants in other states.
In West Champaran district, the out-migration situation appears to have improved in recent years. According to the 2011 census, it is listed as one of the 14 districts in Bihar that provide ‘pull factor’ for migration within the state. It was also among the regions that saw a large number of migrants returning after losing their jobs during the 2020 Covid pandemic.
“I decided to come back because I found it safer here,” said Sanjay Gupta, who runs a small restaurant on the national highway in West Champaran. “With good roads and highways, I can set up shop to feed my family. It is better to be with family when you can afford it. Earlier, we could not think of keeping a shop open when it gets dark, and now my shop is open until late in the evening.”
In the district headquarters of Petiya, Sheela Devi is relieved that she did not have to send her son Naresh away to get a job. “Naresh’s elder brother went to Mumbai and was earning Rs 15,000 a month. But after the first month, he contracted typhoid and had to spend nearly Rs 20,000 on his treatment. So what’s the point – you fall ill away from family and there is no one around to take care of you,” she said.
Naresh, 22, works in the local fish market. “I may not earn much, but I can sleep at home and be with my family and friends,” he said.
For Sheela and her extended family, who live in a building they inherited from their grandfather, the feeling of security and the presence of basic infrastructure in the area is enough to once again lend their support to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the NDA in the upcoming Bihar elections.
With the ruling coalition’s aggressive campaign against the ‘jungle raj’ of the Lalu Prasad era making waves this time too, a section of people, especially women, in West Champaran credit Nitish for improving law and order and good roads, saying he should be “appreciated for what he has done for Bihar”.
Ram Babu Kumar, an immigration advocate, believes it was Nitish’s policies that “led to a 3-5% decline in immigration in the region.” Like others in his neighbourhood, Ram also has a list of grievances, but believes the NDA government can do “something” for the state. “Governments in the past had many excuses for not doing enough to create jobs,” he said. “There is still dogma, and law and order are not as good as they should be. But we have to choose the best among the available options.”
Many local youth complain about the lack of job opportunities. Some of them have also pinned their hopes on director Prashant Kishore’s Jaan Suraj, which they say uses a “different language” on the caste-plagued politics of the state.
Map of West Champaran
After being out of power for nearly two decades, the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan Party is trying its best to woo young voters, seeking their support for its 35-year-old party leader Tejashwi Yadav to bring change in Bihar. The RJD’s MY (Muslims and Yadavs) base seems to be strengthening the opposition alliance’s outreach to the youth.
“No one is against Nitish. But it is time for a change. This government has failed to give the youth hope for a better future,” said Rajesh Kumar, an auto rickshaw driver in Motihari. “There is a tough battle this time.”
Echoing Raj Kumar (28), who had to leave his wife and young children to work in a construction company in Hyderabad, he said: “You cannot keep demanding votes for roads or better law and order in every election. Roads are not enough to demand a good development record. If the government had done something for the youth, I would not have to go to another state to work.”
Raj, who returned home to celebrate Chhath, placed his hope in Prashant Kishore. “He (Kishore) may not win many seats this time. But I will vote for him because I think he will be able to prevent Biharis from going out of the state for work,” he said.
Pradeep Kumar, a grocery store owner, who previously worked in Ladakh, said his family was traditional supporters of the BJP but has now decided to support Jan Suraj. “It is a decision taken by our elderly uncle. None of us is challenging him. He believes Bihar needs change,” Pradeep said.
This call for change appears to be the challenge facing the BJP candidate in Bettiah constituency, Renu Devi, a former five-term deputy chief minister. She is locked in a multi-party contest, against Congress’ Wasi Ahmed, Jan Suraj’s Anil Singh and independent candidate Rohit Sikaria. In the 2020 polls, she defeated Congress MP Madan Mohan Tiwari by 18,079 votes.
The district, considered a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is preparing to go to polls in the second phase on November 11. Of its nine Assembly seats, seven – including Bettiah, Ramnagar, Narkataganj, Bagha, Loria, Nautan and Chanpatia – are held by the BJP, and one seat each, Valmiki Nagar and Sikta, by the JD(U) and CPI(ML) L respectively.
Pratik Edwin Sharma, head of Chanakya College of Education in Betiya, said the exodus from the region began in the 1990s and continued in the 2000s due to poor law and order and lack of jobs. “When Nitish first took office in 2005, he literally drove out the Goondas and dacoits from Bihar in his first five years just like Yogi Ji (Yogi Adityanath) had done in UP. In the second phase, Nitish started working on creating employment opportunities. Since Bihar is a landlocked state, only agro-based industries have prospects here. Bihar does not have the infrastructure and raw materials to support industries. We have geographical disadvantages and the nearest port is located,” Sharma said. In Haldia in West Bengal.
There are about six sugar factories in the area, including one state-run factory. “For sugarcane farmers, it is now possible to sell their produce within a range of 25-40 km. Earlier, they used to transport sugar to Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh). This has led to an increase in the value of land – at least a 200% increase in 20 years. So, many youth feel why should we move out when our land is valuable,” he said.
The district, which accounts for more than 40% of Bihar’s sugar production, is also said to have a record of procuring the highest number of tractors in the state.
However, Sharma, a member of the National Executive Committee of the BJP’s Minority Morcha, admitted that only radical changes in the education system and mindset can propel the state’s development. “People have to be more tech-savvy. Migration rates have come down, but the brain drain has become severe. Talents that could have stayed and helped in the development process are missing. Bihar must spend more on human resources,” Sharma added.
The Nitish government has also struggled to fulfill its promise to replicate one of its highly publicized initiatives, the creation of a startup zone in the Chanpatia district, to check migration in other belts. “It is true that we have not been able to create more such startups. Chanpatia has also faced many problems,” said Sanjay Jaiswal, a four-time West Champaran MP and former state BJP president.
For this failure, Jaiswal blamed the Mahagathbandhan government that lasted 18 months between August 2022 and January 2024, when Nitish severed ties with the BJP to lead the government with the RJD. “Tejashwi was controlling the government and did a lot of damage. They have ended many initiatives taken by the NDA government. But now the central government has announced and started work on the multi-sector special economic zone in Kumarbagh Industrial Estate in West Champaran. There are proposals to set up two industrial zones and the process has begun. When the BJP-JD(S) government comes back to power, it will gain momentum,” he said.
(Tags for translation) Nitish Kumar (R) Political Pulse
