As the dance of democracy continues in Bihar, the third phase of polling in Bihar yesterday was celebrated like a festival with work offs, selfies and increased voter turnout.
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Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday hit back dubbing Modi an “autocrat” and said he and BJP chief Amit Shah have been rattled by feedback of an imminent defeat in the Bihar Assembly polls.
Dainik Jagran dedicated two pages to those who indulged in selfie-voting. Even though Nitish can not match Kejriwal’s charisma, in the case of the JD(U) winning in Bihar, Kejriwal will lose that significant edge that he gained by reducing the BJP to just three seats in Delhi.
AIUDF leaders said that they would like to include more anti-Congress and anti-BJP political outfits as the process of alliance formations takes off.
In the 2010 state elections, the BJP-JD (U) combine had won an impressive 43 seats from the region while the remaining seven had gone to the RJD. Nitish has launched a “Badh Chala Bihar – 2025” campaign, the subtle message of which is that he has a long-term vision for Bihar’s development. RSS chief had said it twice that reservation must be reviewed. “When it comes to choosing between religion and caste, in Bihar caste is preferred”. More than 14 million people are eligible to vote across 7 districts to decide fate of 776 candidates, including 57 women.
Pitted against the BJP is the “maha ghatbandhan” or the grand alliance of socialist parties. I believe dynastic politics is a lower version of caste politics. In such an atmosphere Congress suffers a distinct disadvantage due to complete absence from the mind-space along with a clear lack of a core vote-base. For instance, in this phase, Congress found no takers beyond the sole seat of Hajipur (Vaishali district) where it found a few traction. This anxiety is as much about what will happen inside the party if the NDA either loses the Bihar assembly polls or a near hung verdict is produced.
Lalu Prasad says this is how the poor have been deprived of pulses. Similarly, Nand Kishor Yadav of BJP also is said to have been a victim of an internal battle for one-upmanship.
After the 2014 national election, the NDA held a sizable lead over the Grand Alliance in Bihar, but this lead seems to have narrowed, if not evaporated, after the first two phases of the election.
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“The PM has time and again said that it is for the Hindus to decide whether they want to fight poverty or Muslims and the Muslims have to decide whether they have to fight poverty or Hindus”.
