In 1970, the Daroga Prasad Rai government of Bihar fell due to the suspension of a bus conductor. Jharkhand Party leader Bagun Sumbrui, along with 11 MLAs, withdrew support over the government’s refusal to revoke the suspension. Due to this the government came into minority.
Patna: The history of Bihar politics is as old as it is interesting. Sometimes an alliance changed overnight, and sometimes a minor decision shook the Chief Minister’s chair. A similar incident happened in 1970, when the suspension of a government bus conductor brought down the state government.
A small suspension, which became a ‘political whirlwind’
It is the year 1970, when Congress leader Daroga Prasad Rai was the Chief Minister of Bihar. But his government could last barely 10 months and the reason for this was not any big scam or movement, but the suspension of a bus conductor. A tribal conductor of Bihar State Transport Corporation was suspended from service. The matter was departmental, seemed small, but in politics the definition of ‘small’ often becomes big. The same thing happened this time also.
Jharkhand party leader Bagun Sumbrui’s anger
The conductor belonged to the Jharkhand region, and was supported by senior Jharkhand party leader Bagun Sumbrui. He told Chief Minister Daroga Prasad Rai that the suspension should be withdrawn immediately. But the government did not step back calling it an administrative matter. This denial wrote a new story in the pages of politics.
11 MLAs got angry
Angered, Sumbrui not only withdrew his support but also pulled out the 11 MLAs present with him. Daroga Prasad Rai’s government, which was already based on a slim majority, was now reduced to a minority. Congress could not prove majority and the government fell.
This incident is not just the story of the fall of a government, but a glimpse of the political instability of that period. Bihar of 1970 was boiling politically, every party, every leader was searching for its share of power. In such a situation, when the conductor’s suspension was not withdrawn, this ‘small administrative decision’ turned into a political earthquake.
Rise of Karpuri Thakur
After the fall of Daroga Prasad Rai’s government, Karpoori Thakur came to power and a new chapter began in the politics of Bihar. He opened the way to bring the deprived sections of the society into the mainstream of politics. But all this became possible only after that “one decision” which probably no one took seriously at that time.
Today, when leaders are entangled in alliances, seat sharing and caste equations in the 2025 election season, this story reminds us that no issue is small in the politics of Bihar. Here even the issue of a conductor can shake the Chief Minister’s chair. Politics is not just a game of majority, it is also a game of trust and respect. Daroga Prasad Rai’s government is the most vivid example of this.
Politics of Bihar, where ‘small talk’ is never small
Bihar politics has always been unpredictable, where one speech, one statement, or one administrative order turns the entire equation upside down. Something similar can be understood from this case of Inspector Prasad Rai that in politics the line between justice and ego is very thin and sometimes, the same line swallows the entire government.