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Bihar elections : Lalu in trouble |
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People of Bihar voted in the third phase of the Assembly elections yesterday, Nov. 13, in 57 constituencies spread over eleven districts. Polling in another 15 constituencies which was to take place on Sunday, will now be held on Nov. 16. The Election Commission postponed polling in these places for security reasons, apprehending disturbance by Naxalites and to ensure adequate deployment of central paramilitary forces.
The picture is not too rosy for the RJD-led combine in Bihar which also includes the Congress and the CPI(M), if one goes by the post-poll survey conducted by a national newspaper after the first two rounds of polling held on Oct. 18 and 26. The survey shows that the NDA led by Janata Dal United in the state has made a big headway compared to the position in the Assembly elections held in February this year. The NDA had got 23 per cent of the popular vote in the February elections; they are now projected to get close to 34 per cent of the votes. The RJD alliance is expected to maintain its vote share at 31 per cent. The major loser is Ramvilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party-led alliance which includes the CPI and smaller parties, which according to the survey is set to lose 5 per cent of the total votes. This alliance is expected to get 12 per cent of the popular vote in the current election compared to 17 per cent in the February vote. Nitish Kumar of the JDU is projected as the most popular candidate for the Chief Ministership. Forty-four per cent of the voters want him to be Chief Minister as against only 30 per cent who are in favour of Lalu Prasad Yadav or Rabri Devi as Chief Minister.
Faced with the emerging scenario, Lalu Prasad Yadav has stepped up his efforts to play the old Muslim-Yadav card with renewed vigour. Lalu Yadav and his partymen are aggressively campaigning about the attack on Muslims and Yadavs at the behest of forces inimical to their interests.
Both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Bihar last week to campaign for the RJD-led alliance. Speaking at various places in Bihar on Friday, Nov. 11, Sonia Gandhi alleged that the BJP-led NDA regime had led the country into a communal whirlpool. She charged the BJP and its allies with spreading the communal virus in schools and colleges and even through text books. She said the Congress and its allies might have committed mistakes, but they have not tried to divide Indian society.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the state on Nov. 8 was all praise for RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his performance as Railway Minister. Breaking his silence on the Supreme Court indictment of Governor Buta Singh, he said constitutional authorities should be above suspicion and function in a manner that does not invite adverse comments. The Prime Minister said Governor Buta Singh should avoid triggering controversies through his statements.
BJP President L.K. Advani on the other hand described Manmohan Singh as the “weakest” Prime Minister the country ever had and dismissed his allegation that the erstwhile NDA Government at the Centre had done very little for Bihar.
Holding the RJD, which was in power in Bihar for 15 years, responsible for the state’s ills, he said, “Being an economist, the Prime Minister should know that Lalu Prasad is responsible for the sorry state of affairs (in Bihar) but he chose to describe him as a “Vikas Purush.” This is not only shameful, but also pitiable.”
Advani attacked the UPA Government at the Centre for the “unconstitutional” dissolution of the State Assembly “in order to prevent the NDA” from forming a Government led by Nitish Kumar.
Observers say that battleground Bihar is seeing some dirty fighting as the election process nears the end. The Lalu versus Nitish contest has been re-energised by a BJP advertisement linking the ISI threat and illegal Bangladeshis, with the RJD chief getting an opportunity to rally Muslim support.
BJP’s hard-hitting poll poster has been seized upon by the RJD boss to project the BJP-JDU alliance as “anti-minority” and to animate his Muslim vote bank which has, of late, shown a degree of disenchantment with the RJD.
The poll line seems to be a miscalculation on the part of a BJP poll manager as JDU leader and NDA’s chief ministerial hopeful Nitish Kumar has made it a point to reach out to Muslims and sections of the community have welcomed him at mosques.
Meanwhile, RJD Member of Parliament Mohd. Shahabuddin, facing criminal charges in as many as 34 cases has been sent to Bhagalpur Central Jail after being remanded to 14 days judicial custody. He was arrested in Delhi after evading capture for many weeks.
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