With prediction of changes, Bihar readies for D-day

Bihar might be on the cusp of a major generational shift in politics as it braced for Tuesday’s counting of votes for the Assembly election, with most pollsters predicting a landslide for the five-party Grand Alliance led by the young RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Counting will be taken up at 55 centres across 38 districts where the outcome will decide the fate of the Nitish Kumar government that has helmed the State for a decade and half.

Most exit polls have predicted a rout for the ruling JD(U)-BJP combine and a resounding victory for the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) led by RJD’s 31-year-old chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, who has thrown down the gauntlet at redoubtable Nitish Kumar, the battle-scarred veteran more than twice his age.

The Election Commission is making sure that the winds of potential change cause no disruption in the counting process. According to Chief Electoral Officer HR Srinavasa, central armed police forces have been deployed at the strong rooms, where the EVMs have been stored since the completion of voting, and the halls where these will be unsealed Tuesday morning after counting of postal ballots gets over. The State has 243 Assembly constituencies and the most keenly watched will obviously be Raghopur in Vaishali district from where Tejashwi Yadav is seeking re-election. In addition, Tuesday’s counting will also decide the political fate of nearly a score of ministers. Prominent among them are Nand Kishore Yadav (Patna Sahib), Pramod Kumar (Motihari), Rana Randhir (Madhuban), Suresh Sharma (Muzaffarpur), Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda), Jai Kumar Singh (Dinara) and Krishnanandan Prasad Verma (Jehanabad).

Most exit polls have predicted a rout for the ruling JD(U)BJP combine and a resounding victory for RJD’s 31-year-old chief ministerial candidate