Yesterday, 21 Oct 2010, Bihar went for the first phase of election for its 47 seats out of 243 assembly seats. This will be an important election not only for Bihar but for the whole country in general. For the fact that this is the first state election after the Ayodhya verdict. 16.5% of the total voters are Muslims and it would be interesting to see how these people vote in this election. As far as trend suggests, No one can predict what will happen in the final outcome of the polls but definitely current JD(U)-BJP alliance has an upper hand. One of the polls has even suggested that It would be a landslide victory for the ruling coalition. No doubt, the kind of development programs that has been initiated during its 5 year regime, It was never a case for Bihar. I have witness the whole lot of corruption and lawlessness during Rabri and Lalu regime and state was in such a dismal stage till the time Nitish Kumar took over. It was never an easy task for him to bring the state on track.
Having said that, elections were never fought on the basis of development as it was never a case in the past. It was more or less caste and community that has dominated the Bihar election almost every time in the past. Here is a state where RJD won an election because he dared to arrest Adwani during his Rath Yatra. Remember, 16.5% Muslim voters. So I hope this time, the whole state would be in a different frame of mind while going for vote. They voted for change 5 years back and I think that change has taken place that too on the positive side. It would be interesting to see whether that change has been up to expectation of the people of the state or not?
Coming to the recent campaign during the elections, both the national parties Congress and BJP is trying to put their senior leaders for the rallies but what is interesting is the gathering in leaders like Nitish and Lalu is much more than of these stalwarts. May be that’s a sign of of the coming result on 24th Nov. Bihar in the list few states where the presence of national parties have been very limited. If you look at the 2005 state election, Congress and BJP combined had around 60 seats out of 243. It shows how desperate these two parties would be to improve its position in the state and If this does happen then I am afraid, the future of Lalu will be finished. Lalu is banking on its all time allies Muslim voters and if they do not vote for him then It will be the end of the road for him at state level too as he has already lost the plot during the last Loksabha elections in 2009 with mare 4 seats in Bihar.
Being someone from the same state, I am witness the difference during this 5 year regime of Nitish Kumar and this man is working like a CEO for the state. Even though there is a section of people who does not like the way he works but they simply can’t question him because He has become a bigger name than the party in the state. The kind of works he has done on every front has showcased the state in a better shape and I hope given a second term will help him to strengthen the faith to continue the good work. I hope Bihar voters are intelligent enough to vote and they will decide what they want on this coming 24th of November when the counting will begin. From me, I should be a landslide victory for Nitish and maybe he might be in a situation where he may not need BJP support anymore. If this happens that that will be the best outcome for me. Fingers crossed, waiting for 24th Nov.
