Peaceful elections, murky campaign

In a marked departure from large-scale violence, Bihar has witnessed relatively peaceful polling in the first four phases of Assembly polls. While the guns and armed desperados are few and far between on the streets, shabd-bans (arrows of words) are flying thick and fast with the leaders speaking anything and everything against their rivals. ample these: “Rahul Gandhi rajnitik paap hai (Rahul Gandhi is political sin),” said a BJP minister. RJD leader Nawal Yadav referred to BJP president Nitin Gadkari as Nitin Kutkuri, angering BJP leader Giriraj Singh, who asked Nawal to take his party boss’s name with samman (respect). Instead of amending himself, Nawal raised question on the very name of Gadkari. “BJP wale apne neta ka naam hi aisa rakhte hain ki gaon ke log thik se nahin samjhe (The BJP leaders keep such names which the village people find hard to pronounce),” he said. JD (U) boss Sharad Yadav said Rahul and Congress should be dumped in the Ganga.

Lallan finds few takers

Technically a JD (U) MP, Lallan Singh has been campaigning for the Congress, particularly in Munger, which he represents in the Lok Sabha. He is trying hard to woo upper caste Bhumihars. He wants them to vote for the Congress and against the JD (U)-BJP combination. He feels that the Congress’s good show in Munger will boost his credibility with the party he has been targeting to join in future. But a journey through the Assembly constituencies in Munger indicated that there were few takers for Lallan’s plea. “We are not sitting here to boost Lallan’s political prospect. We are here to decide on the government of our choice,” said a Bhumihar voter at Barahia, a stronghold of the community. The voter questioning Lallan’s integrity pointed out, “Had Lallan been the man of principles he would have resigned as the MP to join the battle against Nitish Kumar the way Digvjijay Singh did by resigning from his Rajya Sabha seat and winning from Banka as an Independent nominee.”

Payback time for Choubey

BJP minister Ashwini Choubey reportedly worked hard from behind the scene to ensure the defeat of the party’s national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain in the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat in 2009 elections. He forgot that the Nathnagar constituency, a part of Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat, has a sizeable population of Muslims and would need Shahnawaz’s support to win. Shahnawaz is apparently paying Choubey back in the same coin now. Choubey has brought out many ads showing Shahnawaz as a revered leader to woo the Muslims. But the grapevine has it that the BJP’s Muslim face has refrained from asking his community members to vote for Choubey, who has the image of a hardcore Hindutva face of the party.

Voracious daily reader

Not many Bihar leaders can match chief minister Nitish Kumar in reading newspapers. Sources revealed that all the Delhi newspapers reach Nitish’s residence in the morning flight from the national capital. Be it poll season or otherwise, it is a normal with the Bihar chief minister. He begins his day by closely reading most of the local and outstation newspapers. He particularly pays attention to the items in which he and his government figure. “I have not seen any chief minister reading newspapers so closely,” said an employee posted at the chief minister’s office for the past 30 years.