Bihar's campaign drama comes to a close, state set for phase 1 of polls tomorrow

Bihar: With the first phase of the Bihar elections set to begin tomorrow, 121 constituencies across 18 districts are preparing for polls as political parties wrapped up the final stages of their campaign on Tuesday.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the 2020 Bihar Assembly Elections with 122 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan (MGA) won only 114. This signals a decline in the NDA's performance in 2015, winning 129 seats, leaving the MGB with only 110 seats, which had already signalled a fall in its 2010 poll numbers. In 2010, the NDA claimed a significant triumph, winning 209 seats, leaving MGB with only 27.

This trend hints that the upcoming polls could go either way and has paved the way for a tight campaign.

The past week witnessed a heavy exchange of fire between the two major political alliances, NDA and MGB, with each side taking jabs at the other. The tension-packed campaigns covered a wide array of issues, including development, employment, caste, culture, women's empowerment, and women's safety, as the verbal clash between the two sides raged.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had arrived at the state to participate in the campaigns for JD(U) on behalf of the NDA bloc, while Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi joined the RJD to campaign for the MGB.

Being the last day of the campaign, several prominent leaders from both sides took their final chance to woo voters. 

The Prime Minister on Tuesday stated that he was confident the people of Bihar had made up their mind to continue the 20-year streak of the NDA's rule, claiming that the "people of jungle raj" —a reference to the RJD —would suffer their worst-ever defeat.

Shah, on the other hand, urged voters in Bihar to press the EVM button with the 'lotus', the party's political symbol, to prevent the return of 'jungle raj', which had "devastated" the state during the RJD rule.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also pitched into the campaigns on Tuesday, saying that those making "big" promises at present had "robbed Bihar's youth of jobs and snatched the rights of the poor" during their rule 20 years ago. He claimed that an era of good governance began only after Nitish Kumar took office in 2005.

Former Union minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani also joined campaigns, pointing out that the NDA government in Bihar uplifted women from the shadow of helplessness and fear, paving the way for their empowerment.

On the other side of the battle line, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the BJP-JD(U) over the security situation for women and asserted that the Mahagathbandhan is fully committed to their empowerment and economic upliftment.

Adding to the fire, Rahul Gandhi, on one of his rallies, accused the PM of possessing a "fake degree" and blamed it for the latter's alleged indifference towards education. In contrast, he claimed that the MGB, if voted to power, will build a centre of higher learning in Nalanda.

Even as the campaigns went to close on Tuesday, it did not subside without controversy. An FIR was registered against Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' on Tuesday for making controversial statements against opposition leaders during campaigns. 

According to the Election Commission, Bihar has a total of 7.42 crore registered voters, including 3.92 crore male and 3.5 crore female voters. Among them, 14 lakh are first-time voters. Notably, the state also has a remarkable number of elderly voters, with around 14,000 over 100 years old.

The Commission has set up a total of 90,712 polling stations across the state to facilitate smooth voting. The police will conduct patrolling on horseback at 250 polling stations, while polling parties will travel by boat to reach 197 stations, according to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Once the polls close after Phase 1 tomorrow, all eyes turn to Phase 2, scheduled for November 11. The date of counting was announced as November 14.