The BJP video campaign makes no mention of Nitish Kumar.
Patna:
In Bihar, as voting for the first round of state elections draws to a close, signs are mounting that the BJP is distancing itself from Nitish Kumar – those who stand out from his supposed support for Chirag Paswan’s rebellion against the direction of the Chief Minister. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at his rallies around the state last week, called for votes for the NDA and made only a cursory mention of Nitish Kumar towards the end of his speech.
The three-phase polls begin Wednesday.
In recent weeks, the two allies have waged parallel campaigns with virtually no overlap. With the exception of Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi and Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad, no BJP leader made an appearance at rallies of Nitish Kumar or his Janata Dal United.
Now Sushil Modi has contracted coronavirus, which has left Mr Kumar to fend for himself.
Even the BJP video campaign makes no mention of Nitish Kumar. BJP billboards across the state portray PM Modi. Likewise, the Janata Dal United campaign also only talks about Nitish Kumar.
BJP leaders have no explanation as to why only posters and cutouts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are highly visible at their rallies, and none of Nitish Kumar, although he has been claimed to be the face of the NDA campaign by Prime Minister Modi and Amit. Shah.
The prime minister, in his three speeches in the state last week, barely mentioned Nitish Kumar.
Even during his first speech to Sasaram, he called for votes for an NDA government and at the very end, asked the crowd to vote for Nitish Kumar, making it clear that the chemistry was lacking.
Off the record, BJP leaders say this is all on purpose as the party now has comments that resentment against Nitish Kumar is growing in all segments.
Voters are particularly angered by the way Mr. Kumar treated the state’s stranded migrant workers during the lockdown and his alleged indifference to the plight of the common people – issues that are used in spades by Tejashwi Yadav of the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal.
BJP leaders also said their party supporters do not want another term for Nitish Kumar despite his clear image due to the ban and corruption in all sectors – issues reported by Chirag Paswan during of his campaign for his party’s solo competition.
The BJP is clear that if votes are not sought on behalf of PM Modi, the NDA stands no chance. So far, he has publicly stated that Chirag Paswan – who is contesting 135 seats – will not be part of the NDA in this election, even though Paswan Junior has declared his loyalty to the BJP.
Comments suggest the Prime Minister’s popularity chart is still intact in the state.
Mr Kumar’s JDU, meanwhile, is inundated with comments about the indifference of local BJP leaders to its candidates. His supporters concede this time that there is no buzz about his “Seven Nischay”, unlike the first time in 2015.
Instead, the party received complaints about the poor implementation of the “har ghar nal ka jal (Running water for every house). The fact that the Chief Minister did not address the corruption problem made the situation worse – both problems were repeatedly highlighted by Chirag Paswan, during his calls for “Nitish-Mukt Bihar” – Bihar released from Nitish Kumar.
