1… Bihar mein ka ba - “Apradhiyon ka raaj ba, filmy andaaz mein aspataal mein goliyon ke bauchhaar ba, saawan mein sattapaksh ke mutton bhoj ka bahaar ba.”
2… Bihar ke log mast, credit chor Tejashwi past.
3… Jumla sunaane..... ki phir kab aoge?
(What's happening in Bihar?
"There's a reign of criminals, bullets being fired in hospitals like a movie scene, and feasts of mutton by the ruling party during the holy month of Sawan."
"People of Bihar are carefree, while 'credit thief' Tejashwi is distressed."
"You came to deliver another 'jumla' (gimmick) ... So, when will you come again?")
These hoardings and banners put up at various crossroads in Patna last month (July), along with similar attacks on social media, are being referred to as part of the "poster politics" between the ruling and opposition parties.
The wording in these posters reflects the Rashtriya Janata Dal's jibe at the sharp rise in crime in Bihar and at the mutton feast organized by JDU leader and Union Minister Lalan Singh. The second poster showcases the BJP’s allegation that Tejashwi Yadav is trying to take credit for several major achievements of the Bihar government. The third one mocks Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Motihari, with Lalu Prasad Yadav taking a dig.
Political parties have long used pamphlets and posters to attack each other, but this time the language has deteriorated to the level of calling opponents "thieves" and "pickpockets."
In June, during PM Modi’s visit to Siwan, Tejashwi Yadav breached all norms of decency by saying that the public doesn't want a Prime Minister who is a pickpocket. He alleged that misuse of administrative machinery and public funds to gather crowds for the PM’s rally, claiming that such actions are nothing but political pickpocketing.
Following this, posters were put up across Patna depicting Tejashwi Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav riding a buffalo with the caption: “My father is a thief, vote for me.” This was a clear reference to the fodder scam, in which Lalu Prasad Yadav is a convicted accused.
Veteran journalist Manikant Thakur, who has been observing Bihar politics for over four decades, believes that the degeneration of language in poster wars and personal attacks are a result of elections becoming devoid of real issues.
He says, "Earlier, attacks used to come in the form of cartoons, but those were satirical and maintained decorum. Now, it's open and abusive. Earlier, there was no such thing as a 'poster war'. In those days, posters, hoardings, and flags in towns and villages used to reflect political enthusiasm. Political parties would use these for promotion. But that spirit has faded. Abusive language has taken over. Poster wars now show a kind of degeneration which is inappropriate and reflects the ugliness of democracy."
Elections in Bihar have typically revolved around the contrast between "Jungle Raj" and "Sushashan (Good Governance)". Over time, the discourse shifted from Parivarvaad (Family Rule) and terms like "Palturam" (a jibe at Nitish Kumar for switching alliances) to "chameleon" (used by both RJD and JDU for Nitish and Lalu), and "puppet" (used by Lalu for Nitish, claiming he's a puppet of PM Modi and the Deputy CM). Now, it has further descended into terms like "fodder thief" and "pickpocket".
Over the past one and a half to two decades, the language used in posters, banners, and hoardings during election campaigns has changed rapidly. Aggression has given way to vulgarity.
A report by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (2019) and another by The India Forum note that the 2019 general elections saw a rapid increase in the use of derogatory language by political parties. According to one report, between November 1, 2021, and March 9, 2022, a total of 11,457 Hindi tweets related to elections were analyzed, of which 2,769 were hate speech, 2,504 used abusive language, and 6,184 were normal. Meanwhile, the India Hate Lab (IHL) Report 2024 says hate speech incidents in 2024 saw a 74.4% increase compared to 2023, rising from 668 to 1,165.
However, political parties seem unfazed by these numbers. They follow their own set of standards and continue justifying every kind of indecent and disrespectful language used by their members during elections. JDU leader Nihora Prasad Yadav says, "The new generation of politics is such that everyone has lost linguistic decorum. Today, when the Leader of the Opposition (Tejashwi Yadav) makes comments, he gets a response in kind. One gets what one gives.”
On the other hand, RJD leader Rajendra Ram refuses to acknowledge the declining standards of language in the posters issued by his party. He says, “Whenever Dalits and backward classes raise their voices for rights, they are abused. When Karpoori Thakur spoke for the deprived and oppressed, people abused even his mother. When Lalu Prasad tried to eliminate social inequalities, the forces of caste and feudalism labeled him a fodder thief. I ask: where was linguistic decency then from BJP and JDU?”
Nevertheless, political parties believe that poster wars might offer them electoral benefits. That’s why, since the beginning of this year, they have been attacking each other through posters.
But senior journalist Vikas Kumar dismisses the idea that these poster wars have any political benefit. He says, “Since the rise of social media, political parties have used poster wars to create a buzz and stay in the news cycle. For instance, today the BJP puts up a poster targeting RJD, the next day JDU responds, and then RJD hits back at both. In my view, this is just an attempt to stay in the news cycle. These posters likely have little to no impact on the general public.”
In the end, the rise in vulgarity and personal insults in political posters is not just about deteriorating decorum, but it is a symptom of how far political engagement has strayed from constructive dialogue. This trend risks corroding the democratic ethos and may alienate voters who still hope for meaningful change based on policies, not posters.
