Elections In Bihar State In India: It Went Down To The Wire

Elections in Bihar State in India

As Bihar State in India prepares itself for another innings by BJP-JDU combine, strain in the ties may or may not look inevitable given the big brother attitude that may come into play. Hope the BJP-JDU combine stay fit and solid and sail through for the next five years.  As for RJD it was a case of so near yet so far. Had RJD not dispensed not-to-be-believed seats to its allies primarily Cong and contested these dispensed seats it would have been able to cobble up a majority on its own. The elections in Bihar was a thriller to say the least. It went down to the wire. Till Tuesday night it was not crystal clear who would have an upper hand with both the contesting combine running neck and neck. It was way past midnight when curtains came down on counting, the BJP-JDU combine was placed in the hot seat. Despite BJP outscoring JDU as far as seats were concerned the BJP lost no time in putting speculation to rest by asserting that the next govt would be headed by none other than Mr Nitish Kumar. The RJD put up a good fight and on its own gathered 75 seats, a remarkable feat by the young leadership. This young leadership has enough arsenal in the scheme of things and would be a challenge to the presiding regime. Mr Nitish Kumar knows pretty well how to respond to challenges as and when they come to the fore. 

Right through the counting day the pendulum swung one way or the other with RJD propelled by its young leader Tejashwi Yadav all of 31 showing how close the contest was and how competitive the politics had begun to shape itself with young guns trying to displace the greying elements. Mr Nitish Kumar has a track record which would be hard to dismiss and an honest image that gells well with the electorate and yet he faced a daunting task given the LJP's determined bid to unsettle the JDU on the seats from where it was contesting. As for Tejashwi he is a force to reckon with and Nitish needs to watch out for moments when the former may try to outmanoeuvre him. With 75 seats under his belt the young gun could well be the kingmaker if not king in the years to come. Mr Nitish Kumar has provided able governance minus job creation and that was a handicap as the roller coaster ride the campaign witnessed. 

With no jobs and large scale migration Bihar is one State that is in urgent need of an industrial blueprint that could accelerate its reach and momentum. Unless industries spread across wide spectrum doesn't set up base in Bihar, the job creation issue would continue to nail it down and make the regime more vulnerable. BJP leader Mr Sushil Modi too worked tirelessly during poll campaign. It was a nail biting finish, photo finish and a cliffhanger and what not with enough sermons for leaders across party lines. 

As for the BJP which rose to the occasion to hold celebrations the next day in the party headquarters in New Delhi in the scheme of things its leadership though outspoken should be more benevolent.  As for AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) party led by Mr Owaisi it opened its account by winning five seats in Seemanchal segment of Bihar. Making inroads in other states would be a hard task on hand; the Bihar verdict may well give an opportunity to oil its machinery to take a shot at new territories. Again NDTV news channels stood out and 14 hour non stop coverage on counting day gave enough hints why viewers trust this news channel network.