In this parliamentary election both the National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) have fielded candidates from same Nishad (fishermen) community on Muzaffarpur seat but the poll, apparently, has become a direct fight between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad. The Prime Minister on Tuesday addressed a ‘Vijay Sankalp’ rally at Patahi in Muzaffarpur and attacked the RJD chief and Congress president Rahul Gandhi without taking names. Mr. Modi further said that “to bring back the opposition in Bihar will mean a return of those days of murder, kidnapping, crime and scams.”The Prime Minister also reiterated the issues of cross-border terrorism and nationalism. The NDA candidate hopes to get support of EBCs, Dalits, upper castes and a chunk of Yadav votes rooting for PM Modi. In the 2014 Lok Sabha poll Mr. Ajay Nishad had won the seat defeating Congress candidate Akhilesh Prasad Singh by a margin of over 2.5 lakh votes.

Source: The Hindu April 30, 2019 17:37 UTC