The Congress is gearing up for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls at a time when the ruling Janata Dal (U)-BJP combine is feeling uncomfortable and thus losing its killer instinct, while the RJD-LJP combine is not in a position to emerge as an alternative to chief minister Nitish Kumar.
The Congress on Monday announced the names of 39 central observers for the state.
The observers include over 10 MPs and about a dozen legislators, who would stay in districts they are allotted and work as the ears and eyes of the high command. Significantly, not a single woman leader figured in the list of observers.
According to insiders, the elections are going to be tricky mainly because the JD(U)-BJP combine is not cohesive while RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has not been able to expand his party’s constituency outside Yadavs. On the other hand, the votes of minorities and upper castes would split into two to three parties, they feared.
If the BJP’s Hindutva line and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s attempts to become a main campaigner would weaken Mr Kumar and his JD(U), Mr Lalu Yadav continues to be the main target of the ruling combine. Even the Congress does not want to ally with him after realising that he is still a liability politically.
The Congress does not have a charismatic leader like Mr Nitish Kumar and Mr Lalu Yadav and remained week organisationally. But the party is pegging hits hope on AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi with a calculation that he can attract floating voters, upper castes and minorities with his agenda of all-round development.
Meanwhile, the MPs who have been appointed as the central observers for each district include Ratan Singh for Bhojpur district, Dipender Hooda (Nalanda), Premchand Guddu (Gaya), Raghuveer Meena (Aurangabad), Khiladi Lal Bairwa (East Champaran), Harish Chaudhary (West Champaran), Lal Chand Kataria (Saran), Ask Ali Tak (Bhagalpur), Jagdish Thakore (Banka), Mukesh Gadhvi (Munger) and Mahabal Mishra (Madhubani).
Besides, two ministers, Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav from Haryana and Pramod Jain “Bhaya” from Rajasthan, have also been asked to work in Madhubani and Patna (rural).