A Bollywood Tragedy For Bihar

With the seal of the Supreme Court, the CBI probe into Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has set off a race among political parties to take credit for it ahead of the Bihar assembly polls. With the Election Commission likely to hold the polls as per schedule in October-November, the emotive issue of the passing of a young Bihari actor in Mumbai has emerged as a key electoral plank, sidelining other issues such the coronavirus crisis and the worsening flood situation in the state. Sushant, 34, who played cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his 2016 Bollywood biopic, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his Mumbai residence on June 14. Suspecting foul play, his father Krishna Kishore Singh later lodged an FIR with Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna and also demanded a CBI inquiry, expressing displeasure over the probe by the Mumbai Police.

The Nitish Kumar government then recommended to the Centre to get the matter investigated by the central inv­estigating agency. Even as the Maha­rashtra government and actress Rhea Chakraborty, Sushant’s former girlfriend named as the prime accused in the abetment to suicide case lodged by his father, cried foul over the Bihar government’s move, the court allowed the CBI on August 19 to proceed with the investigation and all political parties in Bihar hailed the decision as the “triumph of justice”. Ahead of the polls, no party worth its flag is ready to overlook an issue that has struck an emotional chord with the electorate, ­especially youngsters. So, while the ruling JD(U) has been giving credit for the CBI probe solely to Nitish, the ­opposition RJD has been patting its leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

Nitish says the Supreme Court has vindicated the action taken by the Bihar Police and the decision of the state government to hand over the case to the CBI. “Some people wanted to give it a political colour, while the state government believed it was related to justice. I am confident that the CBI will investigate the matter and justice will be done as soon as possible,” he adds.

Sushant’s family has expressed gratitude towards Nitish for the CBI probe. According to Bihar’s water resources minister, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Nitish did everything he could do to bring justice to Sushant’s elderly father. “The Bihar government’s recommendation for CBI inquiry indicates the CM’s commitment to justice,” says Jha. “Had the Bihar Police not filed an FIR and expedited the investigation, the Mumbai Police would have closed the case on the sly. Due to non-cooperation of the Mumbai Police, Sushant’s family had appealed to the chief minister for a CBI probe. The CM accepted the ­demand and top lawyers represented the Bihar government in the Supreme Court. Millions of people now want the CBI to unravel the truth at the earliest and bring the guilty to book.”

Jha alleges that the Maharashtra government, run by a coalition that ­includes the Congress, insulted lakhs of aggrieved Biharis, Sushant’s ­admirers in particular, by trying to suppress the truth. “RJD leaders are aligned with the same Congress, which the people of Bihar will not forgive. It was only after his disappointment with the Maharashtra ­police that Sushant’s father ­approached Nitish,” he adds.

The RJD, however, claims that if any politician had called for a CBI probe in keeping with the sentiments of Sushant’s family and the people of Bihar, it was Tejashwi, the leader of the opposition. Tejashwi says he was the first to demand a CBI inquiry—during his June 30 press conference. “I raised the issue both inside and outside the assembly, which jolted the Bihar government from its deep slumber after more than 40 days,” he says. “Actor Shekhar Suman wanted to meet the chief minister in this connection, but he did not get an ­appointment. Thereafter, he met me and we demanded a CBI inquiry”

Insisting that the CBI investigation is neither his victory nor that of the Nitish government, Tejashwi says, “This is justice and the victory of the people of Bihar.” The RJD alleges that Nitish chose to remain indifferent to the case for about a month and a half after Sushant’s death, but the Opposition’s relentless campaign and overwhelming public support forced the state government to recommend the CBI probe. Tejashwi says Nitish did not even visit Sushant’s house in Patna to console his family members after the actor’s death even once.

Tejashwi and his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav were among the first few opposition leaders who visited Sushant’s family and also demanded that the upcoming film city at Rajgir should be named after the late actor. From the ­ruling alliance camp, senior BJP leaders such as deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the local MP, met Sushant’s ­father at his house, but Nitish did not.

Political analysts say the Nitish government swung into action only after the ‘justice for Sushant’ campaign gained momentum on social media and elsewhere. Later, leaders of almost each and every small and big party raised the pitch for a CBI inquiry. Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan asked Nitish and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to ensure justice to Sushant’s family. Later, in spite of being an ally of the National Democratic Alliance, Paswan called the Nitish ­government’s move to recommend a CBI probe “better late than never”.

All this while, the Shiv Sena-led Mahavikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has sniffed vested political intentions behind the Bihar Police’s move to launch an investigation into a death that took place in Mumbai, far away from the area under their jurisdiction. It alleges that this has been done primarily to benefit the ruling ­coalition in the upcoming elections. But will the death of an actor have any bearing on the polls in a state where caste equations have always outweighed other factors at the hustings? Sushant, after all, belonged to the Rajput caste, which comprises around five per cent of the population and ceased to be a major political force in Bihar in the post-Mandal era.

Election analysts believe that the campaign for justice to Sushant has evoked unprecedented public support, with the common people rising above caste or party affiliations in Bihar. It’s an emotional issue that no poll-bound party can afford to ignore, they argue. The issue of Sushant’s demise is, therefore, important for the ­incumbent Nitish government because young people account for about two-thirds of the voters in the state and most of them are active on social media these days. In political circles, Nitish’s move in Sushant’s case is seen as an attempt to get the support of such voters. A few days before the Supreme Court’s decision, the Bihar Police’s move to send a team to Mumbai to investigate the case had received widespread support back home.

Meanwhile, there are talks that ­former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has been roped in for the Bihar polls by the BJP with a view to taking on the Grand Alliance, especially the RJD and its key ally Congress, over the Sushant case. The Congress is a major ally in the Maharashtra government, and leaders of the ruling coalition in Bihar are ­accusing it of having kept mum on Sushant’s death. Deputy CM Sushil Modi alleges that the Congress is part of the Maharashtra coalition that adopted a non-cooperative attitude with the Bihar Police team in Mumbai. “Uddhav Thackeray is under pressure from the Congress-funded Bollywood mafia, so he is bent on saving people ­involved in Sushant’s case. What face will the Congress show to the people of Bihar?” Sushil asks.

As the slugfest intensifies by the day and all eyes remain riveted on the ongoing CBI investigation, the echoes of Sushant’s death are bound to be heard in the run-up to the Bihar polls.