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Rahul Gandhi, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav (L); PM Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
Credit: PTI Photos
Patna: The ruling NDA leaders can’t hide their glee. With the last day of filing nominations for the first phase of the election for 121 seats on October 17, the Mahagathbandhan, the Bihar avtaar of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, appears to be in tatters.
More than fighting the NDA rivals, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc candidates appear to be fighting against their own allies in as many as seven constituencies going to polls on November 6.
In what could be considered a poor show of unity and complete disregard for each other, the Congress will be fighting against the RJD at Lalganj in Vaishali district. The Mahagathbandhan’s undeclared chief ministerial candidate, Tejashwi Yadav, has fielded Shivani Shukla, daughter of former MLA from Lalganj, Munna Shukla. The Congress has fielded Aditya Kumar from the constituency, which was once a Congress citadel.
But then, the Congress is not alone to be blamed. The CPI too has shown utter disregard for ‘alliance dharma’ and fielded its candidate Mohit Paswan from Rajapakar despite being aware of the fact that Congress has retained its sitting MLA Pratibha Das from the reserved constituency.
Tit for tat
In a tit for tat, the Congress too has fielded Prakash Das from Bachhwara, although the CPI had already nominated former MLA Awadhesh Rai, who lost the 2020 Assembly poll by a slender margin of 484 votes to Surendra Mehta of the BJP. Bachhwara has traditionally been a Left stronghold. However, Congress’s logic is that Prakash Das’s father, Ramdeo Rai, was a winner in the 2015 Assembly polls and hence the party deserved this seat.
“This is a classic case of lack of unity, understanding, and coordination where the constituents of Mahagathbandhan are trying to upstage each other rather than taking their NDA rivals head on,” said political scientist Giridhar Jha.
No different is the case in Rosera, where the Congress has fielded former IPS officer BK Ravi, while the CPI has nominated Laxman Paswan for the reserved seat.
At Biharsharif in Nalanda district, too, the Congress is pitted against the CPI, where the grand old party has fielded Umair Khan against the Left nominee Shiv Prasad Yadav.
The ‘infighting’ has plagued the RJD too, which has allotted the Vaishali seat to a turncoat Ajay Kushawaha, who joined Lalu’s organisation last week. However, the Congress too has fielded its candidate, Sanjeev Singh from Vaishali.
Yet another such constituency is Tarapur, where the BJP has fielded its Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. He must be thanking his stars as the RJD has fielded its candidate Arun Shah, while its ally, the VIP, has nominated Sakaldeo Bind from the same constituency.
“Any friendly fight amongst the Mahagatbandhan allies will make the victory task easier for the NDA,” said another social scientist, Ajay Kumar, wondering why no senior leaders from the I.N.D.I.A. bloc ensured a smooth seat-sharing pact in Bihar.