This refers to the editorial, “NDA’s winning equation”, (September 16). Each of the two main contending parties in Bihar — the BJP and the Janata parivar is engaged in cracking the majority vote-bank code, through combinations to secure it. The outcome may remain open-ended.
This time, to disperse minority votes, the tactics of the BJP has shifted from overt to the subtle. An orchestrated estrangement with the minorities was initiated much ahead of the elections to sharpen passions with the hope that greater disillusionment propels them to seek newer oases.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi too sniffed an opportunity here. With or without a nexus with the BJP, Mr Owaisi will get a generous share of the pie. What is most puzzling is that the Samajwadi Party is willing to cede away it’s long held legacy on a platter to Mr Owaisi. And worst, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav may well have signalled the sun set for his party in Uttar Pradesh.