The first set of internal surveys conducted by the BJP to assess the ruling dispensation’s prospects in the Bihar Assembly elections has pegged the seat tally for NDA at 160 plus in a house of 243.
Top BJP sources today said the ruling partners – BJP, JDU, LJP Ram Vilas, Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Manch – were headed for a comfortable victory in the eastern state.
A senior BJP source said NDA allies are set to dent some of the RJD bastions this time, including the Magadh region where Tejashwi Yadav’s party has a strong support base.
Sources also said the JD(U), which had been restricted to 43 seats in the 2020 Assembly elections due to Chirag Paswan-led LJP fielding candidates in 135 segments, will make gains this time because both parties were contesting on the same side.
The BJP leader backed Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) as the alliance leader, as already indicated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said Kumar has a major sympathy wave in his favour in Bihar.
Asked what issues were dominating the elections in Bihar, a top BJP source said, “In one big segment of the state, flood control is a major election issue which the mainstream observers have been unable to see. Besides, memories of RJD’s jungle raj remain alive in the minds of voters. Our direct cash benefit plan to support women is also a key factor in the elections,” said this leader.
He added that the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of rolls in Bihar had vanished as an election issue with none of the Opposition allies raising it anymore.
Asked if Prashant Kishor would damage BJP prospects, the top source said no and added that Kishor’s appeal was fading as elections were drawing near.
The BJP has assessed an encouraging strike rate for all its NDA partners and foresees challenging times ahead for the Congress.
The BJP has further pointed to nearly 70 segments in the state where the party has concluded that caste politics – Bihar’s defining feature – is not at work. “These are caste-less seats and factors such as illegal immigration will dominate,” said a senior BJP leader.