The chopper touched down at Muzaffarpur where a sizable crowd had gathered on Wednesday evening. As the pilot cut the engine and the propellers whirred to a stop, former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi took this reporter's notebook and scribbled: " Har jagah Yadav vote acchi sankhya mein mil raha hai (We are getting substantial number of Yadav votes everywhere)." Then, with a smile on his face, he stepped out of the chopper, ready for a road show.
A day later, Gyanendra Kumar Gyanu, the BJP candidate from Barh, claimed he had got 10-20 per cent of the Yadav votes from a place known for Yadav-Rajput rivalry. "It came as a pleasant surprise because I had not expected it," he said. In Raghopur, BJP candidate Satish Yadav, who is pitched against Lalu's son Tejaswi, is claiming 25 per cent of the Yadav votes.
The obsession with Yadav votes is understandable. The community holds the key to Bihar's reins for the BJP.
In any case, the BJP is claiming victory. Leading the battle for the BJP, among local leaders, is Sushil, who is giving Lalu and Nitish a run for their money - at least in the number of public meetings he addresses every day.
The NDA may not have announced a chief ministerial candidate, but BJP supporters and candidates have no doubt about who the chosen one could be. " Upar bhi Modi, Neeche bhi Modi (Modi on top, Modi below too)", "Bihar ka CM kaisa ho, Sushil Kumar Modi jaisa ho (How should the Bihar chief minister be? He should be like Sushil Modi)", are slogans that greet Sushil wherever he goes, specially when he climbs onto a dais to deliver a speech.
"Who else is more suited to be Bihar chief minister," Dilip Verma, the BJP candidate from Sikta, asked the crowd on Wednesday. Just a year ago, Verma was a rebel candidate from Valmikinagar. "Verma's supporters had even thrown stones at Sushil's car at Narkatiaganj. This time we seem to be safe," murmured an aide of the BJP leader.
Undoubtedly, Sushil is the BJP's most recognisable face in Bihar. As he got into a vehicle in Valmikinagar, on Wednesday, and drove 5km through rural roads, residents recognised him. They waved at him wherever he went. "Until a few years back, he could have passed through rural areas of Bihar without anyone recognising him," said a BJP leader in Bagaha.
In his speeches, the BJP leader mixes local issues with caste and beef politics. He appears to know which caste has a sizeable population in the Assembly seat he is addressing and goes after it. "I want to remind my Tharu brothers that it was not Congress but the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee who gave you the Scheduled Tribe status," he remarked in Valmikinagar, which has a substantial population of Tharus. In Narkatiaganj, which has a dominant EBC population, he did not fail to remind the crowd that the BJP candidate, Renu Devi, is an EBC.
Sushil's speech made it clear the BJP has not put the beef issue in cold storage. "Do You Hindus of Chanpatia eat beef," he asked the crowd. The reaction was instant. Cries of "no, no" rent the air. "Lalu and Nitish can eat beef for votes. Install an NDA government and I will make a law that gives 10 years' imprisonment to any person killing cows," he said, drawing instant applause.
"We know that Muslims are not going to vote for us. So, why not go after Hindu votes," asked a senior BJP leader.
Sushil's other focus is on caste. "Lalu and Nitish say it is a battle between upper and backward castes. Who is Ram Kripal Yadav? Who is Ram Vilas Paswan? Who is Jitan Ram Manjhi, whom Nitish insulted? Who is the Prime Minister whose mother used to work as a maid? Are they from upper or backward castes? There is not a single Yadav district magistrate or superintendent of police in the Nitish administration. When we come to power we will ensure it is rectified," he said repeatedly, accusing the Grand Alliance of trying to dilute Dalit and backward quota in favour of the minorities.
The thrust is Lalu and Nitish cannot reign together. "Nitish could become chief minister of Bihar because of the BJP. My Yadav friends, let me tell you, that if Nitish can break his 17-year-long relationship with the BJP, he will not stay with Lalu either. Their friendship will end on Novmber 8," he said.
"It's not that there is a caste polarisation, but you have to give the right messages to the people," Sushil told The Telegraph.
