For Nitish, it146;s now or never

Ek baar, sirf ek baar once, only once. Not 15 years. Give me just five years. If I don8217;t deliver, I will never come to you for votes....

Ek baar, sirf ek baar once, only once. Not 15 years. Give me just five years. If I don8217;t deliver, I will never come to you for votes.8217;8217; This is Nitish Kumar campaigning in a now-or-never mode for the Assembly polls.

Everything looks in place for him. Unlike the February polls, the BJP has projected him as the NDA CM candidate well in advance. And the Supreme Court verdict on the Assembly dissolution was what he had hoped for. Already, he8217;s being welcomed as the 8216;8216;Vaawee Mukhyamantree would-be CM8217;8217;.

So will he make it this time, after walking away from RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav 11 years ago? 8216;8216;We will vote for him. Now it depends on his luck,8217;8217; chorus women from the extremely backward community EBC at his meeting in Munger8217;s Jamalpur constituency.

Nitish Kumar needs luck after two failed attempts8212;in 2000 and just six months back. And this time, he is careful not to fall in the 8216;8216;feel good8217;8217; trap. He leaves early, attends at least eight meetings a day on his chopper and is excited about more women turning up at his meetings. 8216;8216;The presence of the weaker sex indicates that a change is here to come,8217;8217; he says while boarding the chopper after his third meeting.

In fact, a crowd of women used to be a common sight at Laloo8217;s meetings once. Safina Khatoon, 65, had come with her grandchildren at Shivajinagar to meet Nitish about her old age pension. 8216;8216;The local mukhiya has deleted my name. The rich here are getting old age pension,8217;8217; she complains.

Muslims in the crowd is another source of inspiration for Nitish. He is confident that despite BJP8217;s support, at least 25 per cent of Muslims, particularly Dalits, will vote for JDU. 8216;8216;My government will not allow riots to take place at any cost. JDU workers will sacrifice their lives to avoid communal riots,8217;8217; he stresses.

Yet, for securing the CM8217;s chair, it8217;s the EBC community with 30-35 per cent vote share that Nitish8217;s turning to. 8216;8216;We got nothing from Laloo. The Yadavs only savoured the fruits during Laloo-Rabri regime,8217;8217; says Kapildeo Manjhi of Dharahra.

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As for the poorer sections, it8217;s anybody8217;s guess. Although a section has decided to go for Nitish, others are on the fence. 8216;8216;Nobody is for the poor. We will decide on voting day,8217;8217; says Dukhan Kahar, of Mohanpur.

But Nitish warns: 8216;8216;Don8217;t get trapped by Laloo8217;s promises. He is not a man for development. If he could not do it in 15 years, how can you hope that he will do so in the future.8217;8217;