From the Urdu Press: ‘Nitish shrunk, from INDIA face to NDA shadow’, ‘EC’s order to BJP, Cong too little, too late’

The editorial points out that multiple complaints had been lodged with the EC over such contravention of the poll rules and Model Code of Conduct (MCC), but the poll watchdog did not take any effective action promptly. “Instead of issuing a notice directly to the PM over such complaints, the EC sent it to Nadda, asking him to tell his star campaigners that they should not violate the MCC through divisive remarks. At the same time, the EC asked Kharge to tell his star campaigners including Rahul Gandhi to refrain from stoking fears about threats to the Constitution,” it says, charging that by resorting to such lame measures the EC “abdicated its responsibility” to ensure fairness and integrity in the conduct of the polls. “While the minority community was demonised over a host of issues ranging from mangalsutras to reservation, the EC despite being an independent, constitutional body did not exercise its powers to check it and prevent the poll atmosphere from getting vitiated. In some cases, the poll body just went through the motions.”

The edit also questions the timing of the EC’s order to the chiefs of the BJP and the Congress, noting that it came after the completion of five phases of polling.

INQUILAB

Highlighting the decline in the stature and popularity of Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, the New Delhi edition of Inquilab, in its May 24 editorial, writes that following a recent road show held by PM Modi in Patna as part of his campaign, Nitish drew fireworks from a section of social media users for being reduced to the PM’s “sidekick” during this event. It says that some netizens commented that despite Nitish being still at the helm of the Bihar government and ensuring the salience of his party, his popularity has dimmed significantly in the state.

The editorial states that after switching sides regularly, Nitish is being dubbed “Palturam” despite his seniority and political heft. A leader of his standing is being defined by his flip-flops, it says. Nitish may have his own political reasons for his crossover from the Opposition INDIA bloc to the NDA, but he has been relegated to the sidelines of the NDA’s scheme of things in Bihar, the edit says. “On the other hand, there are leaders like Sharad Pawar who, despite the split in his NCP, did not switch sides. And then, there is RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who has continued to stand by his principles. Both Nitish and Lalu were Jayaprakash Narayan’s disciples.”

The daily points out that Nitish had been the pivot of the INDIA alliance before his switch four months ago. “If he had stuck to the Opposition camp, he would have remained a national leader. In the NDA, he is in the overarching shadow of the BJP as just one of its many junior allies,” it says, noting that the shrinking of Nitish in the state and national politics has been striking.