In the sixth and last phase of polls for the remaining six seats in Bihar on Monday, the Modi magic will be put on test as the BJP’s prime ministerial pick campaigned hard in these constituencies invoking his backward background and the unch-neench jibe between him and the Gandhi family. The local papers in the State too are flooded with advertisements with Narendra Modi’s picture appealing people in local Bhojpuri dialect to vote for him and the party.
The six constituencies going to polls on Monday are Siwan, Gopalganj, Vaishali, Valmikinagar, East Champaran and West Champaran. In the 2009 polls, the BJP had won two seats, whereas the JD(U) too had registered victory on two seats. One seat of Vaishali had gone to the RJD while an Independent candidate Om Prakash Yadav had bagged the Siwan seat.
Not taking any chances, the BJP campaigned hard with public rallies of leaders and roadshows to capture most of the seats in this last phase of polls in the face of tough contest posed by the RJD. Modi had addressed altogether three public rallies on Friday in East Champaran, Siwan and Gopalganj appealing people to vote for change this time.
In an apparent bid to woo the backward caste votes, Modi also reminded people that he too has come from backward caste and repeatedly targeted Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for their remarks on unch-neench politics in all of his public rallies. Confident with lJP leader Ram Vials Paswan in its fold to get a section of Dalit and Paswan votes with the upper caste already in its bag, the BJP this time has campaigned hard to get support of the backward caste voters.
However, in the polarised atmosphere of the 2014 election, the BJP received an equally forceful contest from the RJD in alliance with the Congress almost on each seat. The JD(U) apparently seemed to be missing the bus as its own community calculation went horribly off the way relegating the party at the third position.
On Siwan seat, the contest is between RJD candidate Heena Sahab, who is the wife of strongman and four-time former MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, who is currently languishing in Siwan jail, and has temporarily been shifted to Gaya jail in view of the election. The BJP has fielded sitting MP Om Prakash Yadav, who had won the last election as an Independent candidate, whereas the JD(U) has put former BJP leader Manoj Kumar in the fray. In the polarised scenario of Siwan constituency where Muslim voters are in sizeable number along with the upper caste Bhumihar and Brahmins votes, the contest appeared straight and close between the BJP and the RJD candidate.
In neighbouring Gopalganj reserved constituency, the BJP has fielded Janak Ram, while Anil Kumar is JD(U) candidate and the Congress has put Dr Jyoti as its candidate in the fray. After NaMo’s public rally on Friday, the prospect of the BJP candidate in this Dalit and upper caste Brahmin constituency has improved to contest with the Congress candidate. However, the locals said that despite the close contest, the BJP candidate has an upper edge with the Modi magic reeling in the constituency.
However on Vaishali seat, RJD candidate and sitting MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh once again looked comfortable and safe against his rival candidates Rama Singh of the lJP and Vijay Sahni of the JD(U). Independent candidate Annu Shukla, wife of incarcerated strongman Munna Shukla, campaigned hard and emotional to pitch in the contest, but she eventually failed to make her presence felt. She is a JD(U) MlA from lalganj, but was recently suspended from the party for her anti-party activities. In her campaign, she hit hard on Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for sending her husband to jail.
“Since all the rival candidates are nowhere near the stature of RJD candidate Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, his victory is just a formality from here,” said a local person. Singh carries the image of an honest, hard working and grounded politician in his constituency and out of it.
In East Champaran, the BJP has fielded its former State party president Radha Mohan Singh, while the JD(U) has put former BJP MlA from the area Avnish Kumar Singh in the ring. RJD has fielded Vinod Kumar Srivastva as its candidate, but the contest in the constituency is between the BJP and JD(U) candidate with the BJP keeping an edge over its rival.
Similarly in West Champaran constituency, the stake of noted Bollywood filmmaker Prakash Jha, who is a JD(U) candidate and contesting for third time, appeared to be high against the sitting BJP candidate Dr Sanjay Jaiswal. Jha has been campaigning hard hitting dust and grime of villages with hi-tech gadgets and his caravan. People said its Rajneeti redux for the filmmaker of Champaran, but the old horse and RJD candidate Raghunath Jha is making the contest triangular for the seat.
In the last Valmiki Nagar constituency, the BJP has put its weight behind party candidate Satish Dubey against Purnamasi Ram of the Congress and Baidynath Mahto of the JD(U). The BJP candidate had hit controversy recently with his criminal records made public by the border police, but he seemed to be in direct contest with the Congress candidate on the seat. It was from this seat the State BJP leader Chandra Mohan Rai wanted to contest the poll but as he alleged, “some senior State party leaders played spoil for him at the last moment.”
“Had Chandra Mohan Rai become the party candidate, the BJP would have certainly bagged the seat but with Satish Dubey the party has to contest with the Congress candidate,” said the locals of Valmikinagar. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had addressed a public rally in Valmikinagar on Friday seeking vote for Purnamasi Ram. JD(U) candidate Baidyanath Mahto, though, is apparently not making any impact against his two rival candidates.
A total of 90 candidates, including five women, are in the electoral fray on Monday when the polling will be held in 8,582 polling stations. Prominent leaders in the fray in the last phase of polls on Monday are former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Raghunath Jha, filmmaker Prakash Jha, Rama Singh, Satish Dubey, Heena Sahab and Annu Shukla.