Final phase of Bihar polls today; Seemanchal may play key role in deciding next ruler
New Delhi/Patna: Curtains will finally fall on the long, bitterly fought battle for Bihar with the state going for the fifth and last phase of polls on Thursday. With 57 seats, Muslim dominated Seemanchal could possibly play the key role in deciding the next ruler of the state. Both BJP and Nitish Kumar led Grand Alliance are on tenterhooks.
Accusations of BJP trying to polarise the region on communal lines flew thick and fast with the party coming out with an advertisement on cow protection in Bihar. An advertisement put up in newspapers by the party has questioned chief minister Nitish Kumar's silence on the controversy over beef, with the tagline "jawaab nahi, toh vote nahin" (If there will be no reply, there will be no vote'.)
Reacting to the advertisement, Delhi chief minister, Mr Arvind Kejriwal, emerging as a rallying point of the non-Congress and non-BJP outfits asked on whether " these ads in Bihar been given by the BJP's fringe elements? Or by BJP top brass?"
It may be recalled a few weeks back Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi raised the beef issue in his election rallies in the state. At Munger hitting out at the RJD chief, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav the Prime Minister had said: "The Yaduvanshis in Gujarat brought the white revolution in the country. They made Gujarat a centre of white revolution by following the Lord Krishna's cow-herding tradition. But, Laluji doesn't know what all he ate. He has insulted the Yadav community by commenting about what they eat."
Following the advertisement the Grand Secular Alliance was left fuming. Speaking on the issue senior JD (U) leader and Spokesperson Niraj Kumar said "this advertisement is an attempt to create communal atmosphere in the state ahead of last phase of polls."
A delegation comprising JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi and Congress spokespersons RPN Singh and Ajoy Kumar met the EC and alleged the advertisement amounted to “seeking votes in the name of religion". The BJP, however, defended its action with senior party leader Mr Sushil Kumar Modi saying that there was” nothing wrong in our advertisement on beef issue and asking the chief minister to break his silence on controversial remarks made by the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his colleague Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Karnataka Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah."
Meanwhile as Muslim dominated Seemanchal goes to polls on Thursday both BJP and the Grand Alliane are relying on their choice of candidates. Electoral arithmetics indicate that the minority community (mainly Muslims) come close to 30 per cent with 14 per cent of Yadavs in these 57 seats. This incidentally is the main strength of the Grand Alliance, particularly of the RJD.
For a BJP insider while the Grand Alliance seemed to have "done better" in the first two phases, the BJP "recovered rapidly" in the third and fourth phases. If this analysis is to be believed the last phase could possibly be the deciding factor. BJP is also relying on NCP-SP combination and Asaaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM to split the Yadav and Muslim votes.
The saffronites were also expecting that Pappu Yadav, who has joined hands with the third front (NCP-SP) to split the Nitish-Lalu Vote bank. This particular belt is also known for high turnouts. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls there are reports that the region recorded over 60 per cent turnout of voters. For some of the experts a high turn out could favour the Grand Alliance and a low turn could help the BJP.
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