In poll-bound Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to sound the poll bugle on September 6 by addressing a virtual rally through an app ‘JD(U)live.com’ developed by the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U).
The Election Commission (EC) may announce the State Assembly election schedule by the third week of September as the polls are due for a total of 243 seats in October-November later this year.
“The Chief Minister and our party president Nitish Kumar in all likelihood will address a virtual rally on September 6 through a digital platform JD(U)live.com,” said senior party leader and Minister Ashok Chaudhury.
The digital portal JD(U)live.com will be launched by Mr. Kumar on September 2 and its link will be sent to party workers and supporters so that they could listen to their leader, he added.
Previously, Mr. Kumar had interacted with his party workers and leaders locally through other social media platforms but this time, the JD(U) has developed its own digital platform to address virtual rallies and campaigns.
Bihar will be the first State to go polls in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As many as 16 districts of north Bihar are also currently reeling under floods.
“Here, people are either dying due to the COVID-19 pandemic disease or by furious floods but the ruling political parties are hell-bent on going into polls...I wonder how many voters will go to the polling booth in such a difficult time?” asked a senior citizen in flood-affected Rajapatti village of the Baikunthpur block in Gopalganj district. Residents of other flood-affected north Bihar districts echoed the same sentiment.
The EC is gearing up to increase the number of polling booths and employees. The EC, said sources, is likely to engage 6 lakh employees, including women, on poll duty at around 1.6 lakh polling booths. Reports also said the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer, H. R. Srinivas, while speaking to the District Magistrates of the State recently, also mulled over ways to ensure social distancing and follow COVID-19 guidelines among voters.
Mr. Srinivas also asked officials to enroll the names of migrant workers into the voters’ list so that they could exercise their franchise. Over 25 lakh migrant workers returned to different districts of Bihar during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
On August 23, Bharatiya Janata Party president J. P. Nadda, while addressing State party leaders and workers, had asserted that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would contest the upcoming Bihar poll unitedly under CM Nitish Kumar. Mr. Nadda’s assertion put at rest all speculation on the growing dissent between NDA alliance partners — JD(U) and Lok Janshakti Party.
Mr. Nadda is likely to visit Bihar on September 12 to kick off the party’s poll campaign from Mithilanchal. Party sources also told The Hindu that Mr Nadda would also meet chief minister Nitish Kumar during his visit to the state. Meanwhile, senior state BJP leader and state home minister at the Center, Nityanand Rai on Tuesday said that “in the year 2020, NDA will win 220 seats and Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister of the state again”.
