Nitish turns up at JD(U) war room as Bihar votes in second phase

Patna, Nov 11 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday demonstrated that he was neither tired nor in a mood to retire as he turned up at the JD(U)'s war room in Patna to take stock of the final phase of the assembly polls that were underway.

The JD(U) president, who has been in the seat of power longer than any of his predecessors, reached the party office shortly after a meeting with Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', one of his most trusted aides.

The 75-year-old is understood to have been buoyed by reports that his party, which had suffered a setback in the 2020 assembly polls, was poised for a better-than-expected performance this time.

In the last elections, the JD(U)’s tally had crashed to 43, a drop of more than 25 seats compared with the previous assembly polls, which was primarily blamed on the revolt of Lok Janshakti Party headed by Chirag Paswan.

Paswan had fielded candidates in all seats contested by the JD(U), many of them BJP rebels.

This time, though, Paswan, whose party is now known as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), is contesting as a junior NDA constituent.

The BJP, which had outperformed the JD(U) in 2020, also did not insist on the lion's share in the seat-sharing deal. Both parties are contesting 101 seats each of the 243-strong assembly.

Kumar, who has of late been avoiding interaction with the media, did not respond to questions about the high turnout of women in the first phase, a trend which appears to continue in the second and is expected to be to his advantage as the CM's welfare measures are said to have made him immensely popular with the female population.

Apparently, bellying rumours of his indifferent health, Kumar walked briskly, accompanied by his close cabinet colleague Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who struggled to keep pace.

Meanwhile, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad deplored rumours, on social media, that Kumar had met top leaders of the RJD at his residence for a clandestine deal.

"We deplore the rumours being spread by the opposition INDIA bloc, which are aimed at creating confusion in the minds of voters who are voting for the NDA in large numbers," Prasad told PTI-Video.

"The false narrative the opposition has sought to build, through rumour mongering, is extremely shameful and unfortunate and demonstrates their desperation. They are staring at defeat. We would urge the people to vote, in the second phase, in even greater numbers and foil the opposition's mischief," he added. PTI NAC SOM