As the ultimate nomination day for 121 seats within the first part of Bihar elections concludes on Friday, the places of work of the 2 major political events within the two major camps, situated meters aside alongside Bir Chand Patel Street in Patna, are an image of contrasts.
A person’s voice reduce by the din of the small group as he leaned in opposition to an enormous reproduction of the occasion’s lantern image at RJD headquarters. “The seats and the sphere ought to have been divided earlier. There ought to have been no room for this sort of tug-of-war,” he says.
With the Mahagathbandhan comprising the RJD, Congress, Left occasion and Vikashel Insaan Occasion (VIP) lacking an important deadline to declare a seat pact, this concept appears to be written giant on each face that enters and exits the RJD workplace, blurred in white kurta-pyjamas. For now, political events assign symbols to their chosen candidates within the hope that an amicable departure will happen in time for the alliance to take care of a united entrance.
RJD Workplace, Patna (Himanshu Harsh)
The BJP’s headquarters is 100 meters away, and the alliance’s turmoil has been felt right here as properly, however the occasion is now characteristically on strong floor and its marketing campaign equipment appears to be roaring. Public relations supplies are positioned within the visitor rooms, and preparations have been made for objects that don’t match to be positioned exterior on the grounds.
On the RJD workplace, a celebration member who wished to stay nameless wiped the sweat from his forehead as he spoke in regards to the behind-the-scenes battles in the course of the Mahagathbandhan. However he hopes the worst is over. “Within the first part, symbols are being distributed to candidates and many of the nominations for the second part might be determined inside two days.”
The occasion chief added that the last-minute hassle was due to VIP Mukesh Sahani. “Mr. Sahani retains delaying the deal. In any other case we might have finalized the deal days in the past… He desires 40 seats! How can he get so many seats if he doesn’t work on the bottom?”
VIP gained 4 seats in 2020 as a part of the NDA. One MLA died after the elections, whereas the remaining three went to the BJP.
Among the many aspirants hanging out on the RJD workplace is Chandeshwar Dhankar, who belongs to the Dom group, one of the vital marginalized Dalit teams. He stated he had submitted an software for a ticket from Rajnagar per week in the past. “I come right here on daily basis hoping… How can I escape if one thing like this occurs?” stated Dhankar, 52, who has by no means contested an election earlier than.
Rajnagar, a reserved constituency gained by the Bharatiya Janata Occasion final time, will vote within the second part. However Dhankhar is anxious that point is working out because the deadline for nominations for the second part is Monday. “Tomorrow Saturday, the day after Sunday and Diwali Monday are all holidays…Occasion leaders have assured us that we are going to know quickly who will get the ticket.”
A brief distance away, a person walks round speaking loudly into his cellular phone. “To win an election, you want folks’s help, energy and cash. Our candidate has all of it. That ticket shouldn’t be in anybody else’s fingers,” he insists.
In a nook, a crowd of individuals stand across the lady chanting slogans of “Rekha Paswan Zindabad”. The occasion gave her the image of Masauli constituency in Patna.
A bunch of over 20 males, together with Babul Khan, Chandrashekhar Yadav, Md Aftab Warsi and Rinku ‘Sarpanch’, have come right here from Nathnagar constituency, an RJD stronghold in Bhagalpur district, looking for a ticket to Zaid Hasan, a bureaucrat who obtained VRS in July and is reportedly energetic within the area. “We now have been sitting right here for 15 days and all we’ve got obtained thus far is assurances,” Warsi complained, including that the constituency’s “85,000 Muslim and 42,000 Yadav voters” had been all supporters of Hasan.
Ali Ashraf Siddiqui, MLA from the RJD seat, is “over 70 years outdated and might not operate within the area,” Warsi added.
Saad Ahmed, 35, from Dhaka in East Champaran district, can also be looking for a ticket, saying the occasion wants younger leaders like him. He dismissed issues about delays within the Mahagathbandhan. “We now have been campaigning for the previous two months, taking the occasion’s message to households. As soon as the occasion declares its candidates, we’re able to submit our candidates.”
On the left aspect are stalls promoting RJD marketing campaign paraphernalia reminiscent of flags, badges, caps, scarves, gamchas, badges and banners with distinguished images of RJD founder Lalu Prasad and chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav.
“We arrange the stall three or 4 days in the past and are promoting 10,000 objects on daily basis,” stated Arvind Kumar, an RJD employee and salesman who has been promoting marketing campaign supplies because the occasion’s Janata Dal days.
Though there are few prospects right this moment, Kumar is hopeful that the state of affairs will enhance after Chhath Puja. There’s one more reason he expects gross sales to enhance. “This time, folks need change.”
Whether or not the BJP has something to do with it or not is one other matter. Simply exterior the workplace stands a white automobile with a podium for holding conferences, and rooms inside are full of marketing campaign and promoting supplies. Every little thing from rallies to allocating helicopters and autos to arranging lodging for activists and coordination amongst NDA allies is being deliberate.
To create area, the Bharatiya Janata Occasion opened a media wing in a close-by lodge.
“We now have arrange round 60 models to deal with election-related actions. Every unit has a group of three to 4 folks. We now have an impartial media cell to relay all messages in actual time,” stated Denmark Ekbal, media in-charge of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion in Bihar. “The go to of ministers and leaders has begun. We’re absolutely ready.”
