The Election Commission last week announced polls to the 243-seat Bihar assembly that would test the fortunes of the ruling NDA alliance and the opposition RJD-Congress combine. The election, to be held over three phases - on October 28, November 3 and November 9 - with counting scheduled for November 10, will be keenly watched even if the RJD-led ‘Mahagathbandhan’ is seen as the underdog at the starting line.
At the national level, the Modi government has faced unprecedented challenges by way of the impact of the pandemic on healthcare and economy as well as the prolonged military standoff with China - issues that will echo in the assembly polls despite the more usual focus on state and local matters.
While CM Nitish Kumar of JD (U), along with allies BJP and LJP, as well as some new partners, will seek to repeat NDA’s impressive performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when it bagged 39 of 40 seats, RJD and Congress will look to exploit what is seen as a certain slackness in governance in Nitish’s third term.
There will be an inevitable element of polarisation as both sides look to consolidate support, and BJP is expected to point to issues like the successful litigation for Ram temple. If the polls are set to be a test of whether voters feel fatigued with Nitish who rescued the state from the lawlessness under RJD rule, they mark an opportunity for opposition’s CM face, Tejashwi Yadav, to prove wrong those who doubt he has the mettle to be a worthy successor to father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
For the JD (U)-BJP, this is the first test after the Covid lockdown, which had forced a major migrant crisis, with many workers making the journey back to their homes in Bihar. Around 230,000 migrants who returned to Bihar in the last few months have been added to the Bihar rolls.
