With PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi and Amit Shah lined up for Bihar this month, countdown begins for Assembly poll

Election Commission likely to announce the schedule for Bihar Assembly election in a few weeks

Patna: In a few weeks from now, the Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for the Bihar Assembly election, which is slated for October and November, as the new House has to be constituted before November 22.

Against this backdrop, all the bigwigs from the NDA as well as the I.N.D.I.A. bloc have lined up their Bihar tour. This will begin with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bihar, his seventh this year and 54th visit to the State as Prime Minister, on September 15.

Officially, he will inaugurate the Purnia airport, a long-pending demand of the Seemanchal region comprising Bihar districts sharing borders with West Bengal in the east and Nepal in the north. But Modi, a shrewd politician that he is, will also use the occasion to address a political rally in the region where at least four districts — Purnia, Katihar, Araria and Kishanganj — have a sizeable Muslim population and is, therefore, a weak spot for the NDA.

Modi will also use the occasion to interact with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also the JD(U) chief, and set the ball rolling for the seat-sharing pact between the BJP and the JD(U) and also accommodate smaller players like Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha.

How to romp home

Three days after Modi’s visit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Bihar on September 18. The chief strategist in the BJP, Shah, will interact with all the concerned with the sole aim of helping the BJP emerge as the single largest party. “Amit Shah will also visit Bihar on September 27 again, as he has divided Bihar into five zones. He will discuss the first two zones on September 18 and the remaining three zones on September 27,” said senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.

“Since the EC is likely to publish the final voters’ list on September 30, it is expected that the poll schedule too will be announced close to it. Shah’s visit to Bihar will seal the deal on seat sharing among the NDA allies,” said the ruling party source.

On the other hand, the Congress, upbeat over Rahul Gandhi’s successful 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', is planning his Bihar tour again after the 10-day Durga Puja (which begins on September 22).

“Rahul Gandhi has already covered 25 districts, out of 38, during his yatra. He intends to cover the remaining 13 districts too,” said Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram, who on Tuesday held confabulations with top Congress leadership on the issue of seat sharing within the Mahagatbandhan.