New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, in an interview to Vrinda Tulsian, speaks about his new book In Praise of Coalition Politics, Opposition INDIA bloc's performance in the vice-presidential election, and the road ahead for Bihar polls. Edited excerpts: 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 coalition unstable are often votaries of majoritarianism. Stability for what? To maintain inequality? To maintain unfreedoms? Coalition questions that. 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. 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 criterion for a ticket is winnability, acceptance and social background-to make a true rainbow coalition. 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. 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....