HT interview: Coalition politics upholds India’s plurality: Manoj Jha

RAshtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, in an question to Vrinda Tulsian, speaks virtually his young rule book ‘In extolment of Coalition Politics’, Opposition INDIA bloc’s performance in the vice-presidential election, and the road ahead for Bihar polls. Edited excerpts:Your new book praises coalition politics, but in the recently concluded vice-presidential election, INDIA bloc suffered cross-voting.We get stuck with aberrations. News of cross-voting is an aberration, it is not the main text but part of the footnote. Coalition politics upholds India’s plurality. If you quote Nehru—India is a palimpsest, layer after layer, no layer erases any other layer. Coalition governments have delivered more pro-people legislation, more welfare. People who call the coalition unstable are often votaries of majoritarianism. Stability for what? To maintain inequality? To maintain unfreedoms? Coalition questions that.In the VP election, NDA was expected to struggle, yet they got additional votes. Has INDIA bloc done a post-mortem?Post-mortem is very regular, not episodic. Whether those 15 votes were invalid by chance or design—that matters. If by chance, it speaks badly about MPs’ understanding. Both NDA and INDIA did a mock poll—marking a ballot is not rocket science. But INDIA is not just a coalition of leaders; it’s a coalition of ideas. Coalitions must be robust, vibrant, and continuous, not just election-centric.Your book also includes essays on Palestine, poetry, and Parliament. Why were these important to you?The book’s dedication itself— ‘to the Indian electorate, always learning, always debating’ —shows its direction. India never saw Palestine as a Muslim or Arab issue. [Mahatma] Gandhi shaped our worldview on Palestine in 1948 when he asserted Palestinian rights. That has been the North Star for millions of Indians. When I quote Faiz Ahmed Faiz or Habib Jalib in Parliament, I’m sending a message—to government and people—that this is the India we wanted to create. Poetry belongs to the public sphere. The controversy over poetry readings in Parliament was unnecessary. I’ve also written about the loss of party gatherings across political parties—those gatherings are the lifeline of democracy.Partners sometimes embarrass each other—Kerala Congress’ post on X, or AAP. What is the mantra to avoid missteps?The level of discourse has been reduced. We are no longer competitors but enemies in our language. The more below-the-belt you go, the more likes you get. But Indian democracy suffers. No one—neither INDIA nor NDA—is anti-national. We have adversarial ideas about India, but not enmity. Prime Minister should not use language like ‘Bhains, Mangalsutra, Mujra.’ Dog-whistling—like when JM Lyngdoh was called ‘James Michael Lyngdoh’ in Gujarat 2002—has become a major text in our politics. Coalitions should focus on jobs, hospitals, inclusive growth—not on temples, mosques or counterfactual history.Democracy is a lively plant—it needs air, water, nourishment. It should not be reduced to a bonsai, trimmed to fit any leader’s whims. Coalitions are India’s natural state. Our responsibility is to keep them robust, people-centered, and true to the idea of India.Congress wants more Bihar seats, citing Rahul Gandhi’s appeal. Will RJD accept?A lot of this is conjecture and speculation. The only magic in Bihar is people wanting change. Remember 2020, we almost won, the difference was seven or eight seats. In INDIA, the only criteria for a ticket is winnability, acceptance and social background—to make a true rainbow coalition.NDA’s caste arithmetic is stronger, especially without CM Nitish Kumar on your side. How will you overcome that?Whatever disadvantage we had, we suffered in the Lok Sabha polls when Nitish Kumar took another U-turn in January, just two months before elections. But his sheen has been taken away by excessive control from the Delhi Darbar—the PM and home minister. Even his core support base feels anxious and diminished. In 2020, the difference was just 12,000 votes. Now, Mukesh Sahani [Vikassheel Insaan Party] is with us. Bihar this time is not just arithmetic, it’s chemistry and psychology. People say Nitish is ‘leader till election’ but don’t know what happens after.Finally, how will SIR play out in Bihar elections?Twice, the Supreme Court supported inclusion and Aadhaar, but the Election Commission refused until the third order. Aadhaar has 86-87% saturation in Bihar and it’s the most widely held document. People were anxious, even amid floods, that their vote was under threat. And if their vote is under threat, their idea of badlav (change) is under threat. One issue has become a basket of multiple issues. It has mobilised people.