From Gimmickry to Playing the Caste Card at Bihar Polls
With 48 hours for the first phase of polls, Bihar is not short of publicity stunts by all political parties.
BJP’s campaign in Bihar did not end with its Lok Sabha sweep in 2014. Despite securing 22 of the 40 seats in the state, the party’s election machinery has continued to function without a break.
All hotels and taxis in Patna are booked by the BJP. All our taxis have been running for the party from before the Lok Sabha election.
— Raju, Driver
Advanced planning, an exhaustive grass root level campaign and a political strategy that targets the social, economic and caste divide in Bihar, has ensured that the BJP looks like a winner, at least on paper.
Gimmickry also helps. Vinay Kumar Sahu lost his left hand in an accident a few years ago, but that hasn’t stopped him from cycling his heart out at the BJP’s bidding. Wrapped in party flags, Sahu will cover the length and breadth of Bihar over the next one month before taking off on an all-India “Swachch Bharat” tour.
With 48 hours for the model code of conduct to kick in before the first phase of elections, publicity stunts like these are part of an election strategy that leave nothing to chance.
The party is now banking on Prime Minster Modi to provide that one final push over the magic figure of 117 in the Bihar Assembly. The Prime Minister will address four election rallies in Samastipur, Nawada, Begusarai and Munger today – areas which are not traditional BJP strongholds.
With pre-poll surveys predicting a narrow four percent margin of victory for the NDA alliance, the JD(U), RJD and Congress combine, though late to the game and wrought with contradictions, is still giving the BJP a tough fight in rural Bihar.
Read The Quint’s full coverage of Bihar Polls 2015 here.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)