Even as the campaign pitch rises in Purnea, the double-storeyed district Congress headquarters wears a deserted look with a lock hanging on every room. A large pandal has been put up on its premises. The pandal has nothing to do with the Lok Sabha elections. A marriage is scheduled here two days later,” said an old man who claimed to be the caretaker. He said no meetings related to the polls had been held here. The Congress candidate, Amarnath Tiwari, said he conducts election meetings at his residence. It’s a tragedy that the district office of the party has been transformed into a marriage hall. The district office as it is meant for political activities,” said a Congress leader alleging that successive Congress presidents of the district have used the campus as their personal property. Supporters of NCP candidate Tariq Anwar appear more worried about Trinamul Congress candidate Md Hamid Mobarak than BJP’s Nikhil Choudhary. Hamid’s father late Mubarak Hussain, who was an MLA from the Manihari Assembly segment of Katihar parliamentary seat, was a known Tariq baiter and an acknowledged leader of the Shershawadi sections of Muslims. Mobarak used to contest from the Katihar Lok Sabha seat and get a substantial number of minority votes ensuring the defeat of Tariq. The son is doing the same thing as the father did,” said an NCP supporter, hoping that the fear of Narendra Modi would pull the Shershahwadi Muslims near Tariq. Delhi residents are getting frequent calls from a number 01206729595. When they pick up the phone, they hear the voice of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan urging them to vote for him. Paswan is contesting from Hajipur and appealing to Delhi residents to vote,” said an amused Delhi resident stressing that though he belonged to Bihar, his home district was neither Vaishali nor Hajipur. Incidentally, Delhi residents said they also received telephonic requests to vote for Chirag Paswan when polling was due in Jamui.
Thursday, 18 December 2025
