Nitish was not far behind Lalu. But later, he has been addressing seven to eight rallies every day.
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In rally after rally, Lalu Zindabad was nearly always followed by Nitish Kumar Zindabad.
Balloting was by and large peaceful, even as stray clashes took place between rival groups.
Kumar, who is the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers claimed that NDA was ahead of the grand alliance in all five phases of polls including in Seemanchal and Mithilanchal.
A total of 827 candidates contested on Thursday.
While Owaisi may well influence the young minority voters, Pappu’s sway on the Yadav voters in the Kosi belt could be vital in the region which had faced devastating floods in 2008.
Interestingly, domestic markets underperformed their global peers in October, a development this is being linked to the uncertainty about Bihar elections.
In its campaign, the NDA had accused the Nitish government of having failed to make use of the funds meant for the reconstruction of the ravaged area.
BJP candidate Arijit Shashwat Choubey along with his wife and other family members, shows their inked fingers after casting votes during the first phase of Bihar Assembly polls. Responding to the jibes of grand alliance leaders BJP party secretary Shrikant Sharma said “We have asked a few questions from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the backdrop of Prasad’s comments”.
Madhubani recorded 55.87 per cent voting, Supaul 58.60, Araria, Kishanganj 64.39, Purnea 62.95, Katihar 67.27, Madhepura 57.84, Saharsa 50.78 and Darbhanga 58.27.
Shah was briefly banned from campaigning during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls after he made a communally inflammatory speech in west Uttar Pradesh. “These advertisements are against the EC’s instruction to political parties and newspapers”, Additional Chief Electoral Officer R Laxmanan told reporters here.
Patna, The fourth and penultimate phase of the Bihar assembly polls, the biggest popularity test in the country since the February elections in Delhi that the BJP lost, ended on Sunday with around 58 percent of the 14 million electorate in the state’s flood-prone fertile belt casting their ballot, officials said.
Without naming BJP anywhere in its communication, the poll panel said the newspapers should not publish any advertisement which has not been pre-certified by the MCMC at the district or state level as the case be.
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“The above direction of the Commission be brought to the notice of the Presidents of all political parties and newspapers in the state of Bihar and also given wide publicity to all media of mass communication for general information and strict compliance”, the letter added.
