The battle of Bihar has taken a dramatic turn in the last fortnight.
The first Assembly poll held amid Covid-19 pandemic, a month ago, looked like a clean sweep for the NDA. But so quickly have the permutations and combinations changed at the ground level in the last two weeks that the Tejashwi-led Mahagatbandhan is now giving the BJP-led alliance a run for its money. So much so, that Bihar could be heading for a photo-finish by November 10, the counting day.
Posing a serious challenge to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, under whom he served as his deputy in 2015-17, Tejashwi now has an additional responsibility to shore up the numbers for Congress too, if he wants to come to power.
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The RJD is contesting 144 seats while the Congress has fielded its nominees on 70 seats out of 243 constituencies in Bihar. Rest of the seats have been left for the three Left parties.
Ground reports suggest that RJD’s stocks are up compared to any other party. However, it’s not the same for the grand old party, which continues to be plagued with moribund organisation and listless campaigns.
Sample Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav’s speech for the Mahagatbandhan nominees:
“Aap ko note-bandi se fayda hua? GST ne aapki kamar tod dee? (Did you benefit from the demonetisation? Did GSt wreak havoc for you?),” the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a gathering while campaigning for his party nominee Neetu Singh at Hisua in Nawada. He then added to the boredom by mentioning Ambani, Adani, Leh-Ladakh and China.
Now contrast this with Tejashwi, who, like his father - the maverick Lalu Prasad - has struck an emotional chord with the crowd. “Naukri chahiye? Sarkari wala? (Do you want jobs? That too, the Government employment?)”, asks Tejashwi. And the crowd roars: “Yes.”
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“Sarkari naukri milegi, toh achchi biwi bhi mil jayegi. (If you get a government job, you will get a beautiful bride too),” adds Tejashwi and the same crowd turns frenzied, assuring the RJD leader that he will have their rock-like support.
Unlike Rahul, Tejashwi is raking up local issues (jobs, failure of prohibition, migration) and has connected well with the electorate, thereby changing the poll equations sooner than even the opposition parties can grasp. Lady luck is also smiling down on him as the more the top BJP leadership clarifies that “Nitish is the NDA chief ministerial candidate,” the more the voters are getting confused and, at the ground level, NDA workers are looking at their alliance partners with more suspicion.
“I have noticed Congress leaders’ campaign too. In this age of communication, the Congress is miles behind in communicating. Neither they are highlighting UPA Government’s achievements, nor able to target their opponents through facts and figures. At this juncture, Tejashwi will have to give Congress a genuine piggy ride to help the grand old party emerge victorious. If the RJD leader really wants to touch the magic figure of 122 (in the 243-member Assembly), he will have to ensure that Congress too wins maximum seats. And only Tejashwi can help Congress romp home,” veteran political commentator Rakesh Pandey, having covered Bihar polls for years, told Deccan Herald.