Bahubalis will be real kingmakers?

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Surjit Singh Kohli, brother of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and his wife pray for the well-being and long life of the leader o

The atmosphere is heating up in Bihar ahead of the nominations for the Assembly polls. While the Congress will be playing the “Bhiar pride” card to put chief minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and the BJP in the dock, the real players could be bahubalis (musclemen) who control booths.
The Congress Party has decided to fight all the seats on its own but is shying away in projecting a leader against Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav. But both the leaders are being seen as its prospective allies if voters throw verdict for a hung Assembly.
The Congress has coined a slogan Ab zarurat hai kaam ki, Bihar ke unche naam ki, urging voters to choose a party which believes in delivery. Mr Yadav and his wife Ms Rabri Devi, who had ruled the state for 15 years, had ignored Bihar’s interests. But the Congress too had played a role in strengthening the Lalu-Rabri rule. Its all MLAs became ministers in the RJD government at the instance of AICC leadership. Late Jitendra Prasada had opposed it in the CWC meeting, but the secular lobby in the Congress pressed for backing the RJD government.
Meanwhile, the month-long Bihar Assembly poll exercise, which is expected to be a triangular affair among the JDU-BJP ruling alliance, RJD-LJP combine and the Congress, will be set in motion on Monday.
This is the first Assembly election during the current year and the Election Commission is leaving nothing to chance keeping in view the fact that majority of the districts in the state were hit by the Naxal menace.
State governor Devanand Konwar will on Monday issue the notification for the first phase of Assembly polls.
Over 5.50 crores electors are eligible to exercise their franchise to elect a new 243-member House.
The election is going to be a multi cornered affair with the ruling JD(U) and the BJP continuing their poll alliance and the RJD and Mr Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP joining hands to oust it from power.
Mr Kumar ans Mr Yadav are not contesting the state elections. Mr Kumar is a member of the Legislative Council and Mr Lalu Yadav is the sitting Lok Sabha member.
The term of the Assembly will end on November 27. The polls will be held in six phases on October 21, 24, 28, November one, 9 and 20 for the 243 seats.
Fourt seven of the seats are in 33 Maoist-hit districts and the poll panel has decided to deploy CRPF to ensure a free and fair polling. There are a total of 38 districts in the state. Counting of votes will take place on November 24.
The bye-elections for Banka Lok Sabha seat, which fell vacant following the death of sitting MP Digvijay Singh, will be held on November one.