Updated: October 27, 2020 7:24:08 am
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav addresses an election rally in Bihpur, in the Bhagalpur district. (Twitter / RJDforIndia)
The campaign for 71 seats in the first phase of the high-risk elections for Bihar, which are taking place amid the Covid pandemic, came to an end on Monday and the elections will take place on Wednesday.
The final day saw a series of election rallies by top contenders in the electoral fray, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD and Chirag Paswan of the LJP, along with BJP leaders JP Nadda, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nityanand Rai.
Tejashwi, Mahagatbandhan’s top ministerial candidate, left his 10th house, Circular Road, in Patna holding a garland of onions, adding to price increases and inflation to his attacks on the Nitish government.
The economic distress was great in Bihar with farmers, youth and entrepreneurs struggling to prepare food for their families, Tejashwi told reporters.
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“The BJP used to roam around wearing these onion garlands when there was a price increase … Many talked about the onion tariffs when they were 50 rupees per kg, now when they are 80 rupees per kg they are keeping quiet.”
Top RJD leaders said that rising prices was not a new topic for them and that the economic downturn, uncertainty and inflation were interlinked.
“We found that on the ground, people were talking about these issues: rising prices for onions and potatoes,” said RJD MP Manoj Jha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar during an election rally in Bihar on Friday. (PTI)
Tejashwi maintained its dizzying pace of demonstrations, holding 13 in five districts on Monday, including one in Hasanpur, where his brother Tej Pratap participates, as well as in Raghopur, from where he is seeking re-election.
Nitish addressed rallies in Muzaffarpur and Vaishali districts, where he continued to attack the RJD.
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The CM has repeatedly asked voters to remember the “days of the jungle raj” under Lalu Prasad, saying that only in the last 15 years under his command has the condition of roads, health infrastructure and education of Bihar.
PTI reported that a slipper was thrown at the CM as he was leaving after the rally in Sakra, Muzaffarpur. Nitish has faced protests at several of his election rallies, losing his cool at times and admonishing the crowd.
In Purnea, referring to the RJD, Union Minister Prasad said: “There are leaders talking about a ‘new Bihar’. But his posters are missing photographs of his (Tejashwi) parents, who ruled the state for seven and a half years each. Why are you so ashamed?
Continuing his attack on Nitish, LJP President Chirag accused the CM of “dreaming of becoming prime minister.”
Drawing large crowds at each of his seven demonstrations, he said innocent people were being imprisoned under the Prohibition law so they would not speak out against the government.
A total of 71 seats in 16 districts will go to the polls in Phase 1, with 1,066 candidates in total, 852 of them men.
In the second phase, 94 electoral districts in 17 districts will vote on November 3; and the third and final phase of the elections will see voting in 78 constituencies in 15 districts on November 7.
The results of the Bihar elections will be declared on November 10.
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