What impact will attacks on Hindi speakers in Maharashtra have on the Bihar polls?

It is not clear whether Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to share the stage with his estranged cousin Raj in Mumbai on Saturday will prove to be a landmark moment in Maharashtra politics. But its effects are already being felt 1,700 kms away in Bihar’s capital of Patna.

Maharashtra has seen a spate of attacks against Hindi speakers of late, carried out by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The fact that the MNS is expected to partner with the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray, which is, in turn, an ally of the Congress, could end up having an impact on the upcoming Bihar Assembly election.

The new political formation in Maharashtra could potentially allow the Bharatiya Janata Party to present itself as a protector of Bihari migrants even as the Hindutva party accuses the Congress and its allies in Bihar of colluding with the MNS’s anti-Hindi drive.

MNS leader Raj Thackeray’s speech on Saturday made matters worse. He asked his workers to continue with their language campaign even as Uddhav Thackeray applauded.

Scroll asked representatives of three major Opposition parties in Bihar if the reunion of the Thackerays could hurt them in the state’s assembly elections expected later this year. While they sought to downplay its impact, they...

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