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Summary of Bihar Phase-3 Election

By Deepak Parvatiyar

October 29, 2015

5.00/5 (100.00%) 1 vote

The 53.32% voter turnout in the third phase was almost three per cent higher than that registered in 2010 assembly elections as well as in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in these districts — Bhojpur, Buxar, Nalanda, Patna, Saran, and Vaishali.  However the turnout in this phase for the 50 assembly seats – highest number of seats going to polls thus far –was still comparatively lesser than the average 55.67% turnout of voters in the first two phases of polling. (57% in first phase and 55% in second phase).

An important feature of Bihar elections this time is larger participation of women in polling. Like in the first two phases, this time too, the women voters outnumbered the male voters – 54% women turned out to vote as against 52.50% men in the third phase. Still even here the women voter’s turnout was less than the average 57.95% in the first two phases.
Among the six districts Buxar district recorded the highest 56.58% voters turnout in the third phase. This was almost four per cent more than the 2010 figures. Buxar was followed by Vaishali ( 54.82%), Nalanda (54.11%), Bhojpur (53.30 %), Saran (52.50%) and Patna (51.82%). What though is significant is that all these districts saw an increase in voting per centage as compared to the 2010 figures. Yet Saran district, which has 10 assembly constituencies, the percentage turnout was 0.02% less than the percentage turnout during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

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While fate of the Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Yadav’s two sons, Tej Pratap and Tejaswi – both contesting their maiden elections respectively from Mahua and Raghopur assembly constituencies, were sealed in the ballot box, much is at stake for the Bharatiya Janata Party which is contesting 34 of the 50 seats in this phase while its National Democratic Alliance partners are contesting only 16 seats in this round.
In the last assembly elections, the NDA had swept the polls in the region winning 43 of the 50 seats while the remaining seven had gone to the RJD. But political equations have drastically changed this time. In 2010, the Janata Dal (United), then in alliance with the BJP, had won 23 seats in the region and the BJP had won 20 seats. This time, it will be determined who has the edge in the region following the BJP-JD(U) split. With the JD(U) now a part of the grand alliance or Mahagathbandhan along with the RJD and the Congress, they together have left no stone unturned to campaign vigorously against the BJP-led NDA. In the process they have targeted the BJP’s poll mascot Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his development plank. The long intervening period between the second and third phase of polling because of the Navratri festival saw a slugfest of sorts between the two warring alliances where the Mahagathbandhan was visibly on an offensive targeting the Prime Minister over a plethora of issues that included the unfortunate Dadri killing, reservation issue, as well as the issue of several writers returning their awards in the wake of the alleged assault on freedom of expression and the of Kannada Writer MM Kalburgi.
The BJP though on a defensive has put up a brave front. Dismissing the Mahagathbandhan’s charge the the PM had developed a cold feet, Prime Minister Modi is campaigning aggressively and is leading from the front by holding series of rallies in different constituencies, and promising electricity in every village by 2019 and shelter to all by 2022.
Unlike in the first two phases, the BJP this time seemed to have evolved a specific strategy to counter the Mahagathbandhan’s attack on it over reservation and communal intolerance. Seeking to turn it into an opportunity to consolidate the Hindu votes. Consider Prime Minister Modi’s statement during a recent election rally: “These leaders are making a devious plan. They are conspiring to take away five per cent reservation of dalits, mahadalits, backwards and extremely backwards and give it to a particular community.”
As election is picking, the BJP’s strategy to woo particularly the Extemely Backward Class (EBCs) is becoming all too obvious. Just before the second round of elections, at least two prominent BJP leaders – its member of Parliament Manoj Tiwary and thereafter former union minister Syed Shahnawaz – had mentioned the name of prominent EBC leader Dr Prem Kumar as the BJP’s choice for the CM’s post (Shahnawaz though had later backtracked on his statement). Now before the third phase of elections, Modi himself invoked his own EBC status (His caste Ghanchi or Telis fall in the EBC category in Bihar) to the EBC voters — “I come from an extremely backward class and understand the pain of having been born to a poor woman…”
Modi had also sought to dispel confusion over reservation — “The leaders of this ‘Mahaswarth’ (opportunistic) alliance are trying to mislead the people on the issue of reservation … It is clear through the discussion of our constitution makers that reservation cannot be given on the basis of religion. The Supreme Court has said reservation cannot be more than 50%. There is a cap…” he had said  at an election rally in Buxar.
Whether such statements turn into votes is to be seen.
The polling was largely peaceful in the third phase of elections in Bihar on October 28 in face of large deployment of security personnels and deployment of central paramilitary forces (CPMFs) at all polling stations. Five drones/ helicopters were deployed at the Naxal affected regions that went to poll in the third round. In all 59 anti social persons were rounded off and 418 arms too were seized.
Voters though boycotted polls at four polling centres – at Amnaur and Parsa in Saran district, Barh in Patna district, and Rajpur (SC) in Buxar district in the third round of voting.
It may be mentioned that fate of 808 voters including 71 women were in the contest in the third phase.

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