Maharajganj bypoll: Prestige,future at stake for Nitish,Lalu

The run-up to the June 2 Maharajganj Lok Sabha bypoll,a prestige issue for both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief and his predecessor

The run-up to the June 2 Maharajganj Lok Sabha bypoll,a prestige issue for both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief and his predecessor Lalu Prasad,has become a battle of contrasting idioms. While Kumar flaunts what his regime so far has achieved for the state,Prasads speeches are full of sarcasm for his political chhote bhai ,who has been acting oversmart with over-the-top media coverage.

Kumar,though as deft with caste calculations as Lalu,never plays it openly. Lalu,on the other hand,plays his minority and caste cards overtly by using terms like Brahmarshi samaj Bhumihars,agda upper caste,pichhda backward,atyant pichhda EBC and akliyat minority.

Kumar plays his development card to the hilt while Lalus campaign defies any nomenclature. Kumar rarely names Lalu in his public speeches but Lalu rarely misses to take a swipe at him.

The JDU has fielded former advocate general and HRD minister P K Shahi because of his clean image,the RJD has got the veteran Prabhunath Singh,who is hardly bothered about his image.

When Kumar takes the mike to appeal for reward for his good work of seven-and-a-half years,he knows what JDU victory means for him before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He has brought into play in Maharajganj the entire might of his administration. He himself conducted over half a dozen public meetings over the past three days. At a rally in Ekma on Thursday,he said: This bypoll has great importance,for it is a battle between two political streams one of development with peace and the other of violence and absolute lack of vision. Maharajganj bypoll result will show way for 2014 elections and will have clear message for Delhi.

Prasad too is aware of the significance of this political battle for his own as well as his partys future. He does not talk about his candidate,a political heavyweight. He calls the bypoll a direct fight between him and his bete noire the Bihar Chief Minister. If I win Maharajganj,it will be a step towards getting a ticket to Delhi in 2014, he tells people at his rallies.

Voters on their part are not coming out with any definite clue. Some say Nitish Kumar needs to be taught a lesson for becoming too arrogant with power. Ravi Upadhyay,a teacher at Lakdi Naviganj,said: The CMs Darbhanga speech during Adhikaar Yatra saying that teachers will not get a hike of even a penny was speech of an autocrat. Rajesh Kumar,a Panapur resident,says: When one has to pay bribe to lodge an FIR and get a caste certificate,the talk of good governance is all eyewash.

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Kumars supporters say Prasad had nothing new to offer and should have promoted leaders like Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Abdul Bari Siddiquei than launching his son Tejaswi Prasad Yadav to campaign.

Most people come to hear jokes of Laluji. He has been repeating his proverbs and does not have facts to counter Nitish Kumars development claims. Even if some of Bihar development is because of Central funds,the credit must go to Nitish. Why did not Lalu do so when his party was in power for so long, said a local resident.