PATNA: With two-thirds of the assembly seats yet to go to the polls, the NDA in Bihar is facing the double whammy of rebel candidates as well as the strong perception that RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has emerged as a strong contender for the CM’s post. The second phase of polling for 94 seats is on Tuesday.
However, CM Nitish Kumar dismissed the “popularity” of the Mahagathbandhan’s CM face, Tejashwi, who has been drawing huge crowds in his election meetings. “What happened in 2005 when Laluji (RJD chief) drew similar crowds. And don’t forget the 2010 election when both Lalu and Ram Vilas Paswan together drew huge crowds. The result is for everyone to see,” Nitish told a TV channel in an interview on Monday.
The JD(U) chief also dismissed the young and aggressive crowd response in Tejashwi’s rallies. “Who are they? Who are excited and attending his (Tejashwi’s) meetings?” Nitish asked, hinting that the crowds comprise people from a “certain caste and section” only.
Without taking any name, Nitish said he never took notice of the acerbic comments made against him by some leaders (Tejashwi and LJP chief Chirag Paswan). “They are from political families. What other credentials do they have? They only get publicity by making such comments,” Nitish said.
A JD(U) leader, preferring anonymity, told TOI that the aggressive crowd responses in Tejashwi’s meetings were polarizing voters in favour of NDA as the EBCs have started fearing the same lawlessness as they had witnessed before 2005 when Nitish came to power.
“The M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) aggression is similar to the pre-2000 period but the good women’s turnout is encouraging for JD(U),” he said, referring to the 50% reservation for women in panchayats and urban local bodies, and 35% quota in government jobs among others.
The NDA is also banking on HAM (S) of Jitan Ram Manjhi and Mukesh Sahani VIP to garner a sizable number of votes from Musahar (Manjhi) and Mallah (fishermen) communities.
But what is worrisome for NDA is not only LJP but also the rebel candidates of BJP and JD(U), who are in the fray against several of their official nominees.
Even BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal said recently that unlike in previous elections, the NDA lacked coordination at the grassroots level this time. This got reinforced when senior BJP leader and deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday warned Bhagalpur JD(U) MP Ajay Mandal from a public platform against working for a party rebel and former MLA Aman Paswan in Pirpainty. BJP candidate Lalan Paswan agreed with SuMo on Mandal but told TOI on Monday that the JD(U) organization was working for him. Mandal, however, said someone misled SuMo. “He is a big leader and our guardian. I won’t say anything against him, but I am a committed NDA worker,” he told TOI.
While former JD(U) MLA Manjit Singh and Shailendra Pratap, an office-bearer till recently, are rebel candidates against BJP in Baikunthpur (Gopalganj) and Taraiya (Saran), respectively, Maheshwar Prasad Singh is contesting against official nominee Shalini Mishra in Kesaria (Purvi Champaran).
Similar is the case in Maner where former BJP man Shrikant Nirala is in the fray against official party nominee Nikhil Mandal. Similar is the case in Bakhtiarpur, Kanti, Lalganj and several other seats going to the polls on Tuesday.