THE WINNING COMBO

After Nitin Gadkari who obviously was the ex officio in-charge of the BJPs Bihar campaign,with party patriarch L K Advani playing more of a guardians role,senior leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley set the ball rolling. While Swaraj fitted in the slot of the NDAs lone woman face for addressing Nitishs new constituency of women,Jaitley provided the perfect bridge between the BJP and JD-U,especially post-Narendra Modi ad row. Though not much of a mass leader,Jaitley was one of two BJP leaders,the other being Sushil Kumar Modi,with whom Nitish shared dais during election campaigns. Besides,Jaitley played his usual role of chief poll strategist with his knowledge of Bihars caste and community configuration. The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha,who had successfully laid out the 2003 victory for the Uma Bharti-led BJP against the Digvijay Singh-led Congress in Madhya Pradesh,was again proved right and his coinage rainbow coalition would become an oft-repeated catchphrase post-poll.

MICRO-MANAGERS

Though Bihar in-charge Ananth Kumar had caused ruffled feathers initially in the party by finding nothing wrong with Narendra Modis chances of campaigning in Bihar,he later reconciled to the truth of Brand Nitish and subsequently played much of a party man,getting reports from each constituency. Bihar co-incharge Dharmendra Pradhan coordinated with all top national leaders about day-to-day developments. He also coordinated Advanis campaign and those of other top national leaders,deciding which state leader should accompany whom depending on the caste and community configuration of constituencies. Pradhan said: Winning Lakhisarai by over 60,000 votes despite JD-U rebel Lalan Singhs resistance and winning four Rajput-dominated Saran seats despite Prabhunath Singh going all out against us are not flukes but talked a great deal about our micro management.

BJP MAN IN BIHAR

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi as the partys most important leader in Bihar took prime responsibility of candidates selection after having conducted surveys. He had to face a banner of revolt for having denied tickets to four sitting MLAs. But he relied on his field visits and once told The Indian Express how NDA leaders did not want Saharsa MLA Sanjiv Jha repeated. He backed Alok Jha,who won in a multi-cornered contest figuring rebel Sanjiv. Modi,however,seemed to have erred in his initial choice of Ramjanam Sharma over sitting MLA Anil Kumar at Bikram. Anil Kumar was finally given ticket at the insistence of state chief C P Thakur,who was also proved right with Anil sailing through despite Ramjanam contesting as an Independent. Modi addressed 216 public meetings,maximum by a BJP leader.

UPPER CASTE CONNECT

State party chief C P Thakur had conducted a Jan Naman Yatra throughout upper-caste dominated areas of Bihar after the Opposition and apolitical forum of Kisan Mahapanchayat had raised bataidari law bogey with landowners. Thakur said: I explained to people why the bataidari law fear was unfounded. The concerns died down fast in the face of the bigger development plank. Thakur conducted top national leaders during Bihar campaigns during each phase and also campaigned with state leaders.

THE MESSENGERS

While BJPs chief national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad shuttled between Delhi and Bihar addressing the media on Bihar elections,he also made sure he catered to the Bihar electorate. He would often get loud applause while telling people that he was the same Ravi Shankar,the lawyer,who played a role in sending Lalu Prasad to jail in the fodder scam. He also reminded voters of the 2005 attack on him at a rally in Nokha in lawless Bihar and compared it to peaceful Bihar now. Other two national spokespersons,Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Syed Shahnawaz Hussain,flew in the same chopper during campaigns to reinforce NDAs development agenda.

MEDIA MANAGERS

BJP MLC and media in-charge Sanjay Jha played a perfect conduit between Jaitley and Nitish Kumar. Several JD-U leaders often envied him for his closeness to the Chief Minister who suggested as much by picking Jha to have a meal of dosa at a Patna restaurant after the end of a whirlwind Bihar campaign on November 18. Jha also took care of media write-ups and the CMs blog. BJP state vice-president and media in-charge Sanjay Mayukh,a Masters in Hindi,often handled the waiting media deftly by ensuring timely quips and quotes of important leaders. Mayukh has been BJP media in-charge in Bihar in all elections since 1996.