With PM arriving on the scene, poll-bound Bihar witnesses NDA blitzkrieg

Patna: Poll-bound Bihar found itself in the throes of a blitzkrieg from the ruling NDA on Friday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the charge with back-to-back rallies in Samastipur and Begusarai, where he urged voters to reward the BJP-led coalition with a “record-breaking” victory.

Elsewhere in the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed rallies in Siwan and Buxar, while BJP president J P Nadda interacted with intellectuals in Vaishali, on a day when Union minister Shivraj Singh Choudhan also held election meetings in Gopalganj and Darbhanga.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was a day ago named the INDIA bloc’s chief ministerial candidate, also fired on all cylinders, hitting the campaign trail after a week spent indoors distributing party tickets and sorting out differences with alliance partners.

Yadav addressed election rallies in Patna, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur and Vaishali districts.

Unfazed by the Prime Minister’s allegation that his party had been responsible for ‘jungle raj’ while in power, the RJD leader alleged that investigating agencies targeted only those in the opposition, and declared that like his father Lalu Prasad, he, too, was “not afraid”.

The PM had also alleged that the INDIA bloc, which has the RJD and Congress as two largest constituents in Bihar, was helmed by “those out on bail” and reminded young voters “it was exactly 20 years ago that your parents had voted against ‘jungle raj’, which led to the formation of a new government under Nitish Kumar. You must now ensure that ‘jungle raj’ is kept at bay”.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Shah, who said “Bihar will enjoy a second Diwali on November 14, the date on which counting of votes is scheduled, by decimating the son of Lalu”.

Yadav said that despite claiming that the elections were fought “under the leadership of Nitish Kumar”, the BJP-led coalition was falling short of giving an assurance that the JD(U) supremo will be allowed to enjoy a record fifth consecutive term in office.

On the other hand, the PM, at whose rally Kumar and other NDA partners including Union ministers Chirag Paswan (LJP-R), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM) and Upendra Kushwaha (RLM) were present, asserted that the cohesion in the BJP-led coalition was in marked contrast with the INDIA bloc, which he mockingly called a “Mahalathbandhan in which constituents beat each other with sticks”.

Modi lambasted the “arrogant” RJD-Congress combine for snubbing the JMM, which rules the adjoining Jharkhand and wanted to contest a few seats in Bihar, and “taking for a ride” Mukesh Sahni, the VIP president, who has been promised a deputy CM’s post.

Yadav later shared on his social media accounts a video footage of a roadshow he held in Vaishali, where his own constituency Raghopur is situated, and wrote an acerbic note addressing the PM.

“Modi ji, just look at this vast crowd of youths, who are out on the streets late in the evening in Vaishali. They are not interested in your stale boasts. They want a vision for the next 20 years. The NDA has been ruling Bihar for 20 years.

“Would you please give an account of what you have done for Bihar, vis-a-vis your home state of Gujarat? You can cool your heels in Gujarat after cheating the people here. But, I have to live here and shall die here,” wrote Yadav.

Meanwhile, according to the Election Commission, altogether 1,302 candidates were left in the fray for 122 seats, which go to polls in the second and final phase on November 11. The number of candidates whose fate would be decided in the first phase, on November 6, was 1,314.

Chainpur, Sasaram and Gaya Town have the highest number of 22 candidates each, while the lowest number of five nominees are in Banmankhi. All the four seats go to polls in the second phase.

In the NDA, BJP and JD(U) are contesting 101 seats each, followed by LJP-R (29) and HAM and RLM (six each).

Among the INDIA bloc partners, the RJD has a lion’s share of 143 seats, followed by the Congress (61), CPI(ML) Liberation (20), VIP (16), CPI (9) and CPI(M) (4).