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BJP confident of Bihar victory

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Giridhar Jha
Giridhar JhaSep 04, 2014 | 15:57

BJP confident of Bihar victory

FILE - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, second left, sits with Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, from left, Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and L.K. Advani at the party\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s national council meet in New Delh

The times are changing. In the past, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had always been content playing second fiddle to its then alliance partner the Janata Dal United JD(U). However, thanks to its landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, the party for the first time since its inception finds itself in a dominant position in the state.

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If one looks back at the history of the party, the BJP had struggled to pose a formidable challenge to the Congress in the 1980s and Lalu Prasad in the 1990s, which had forced the BJP to forge an alliance with Nitish Kumar. In a state where caste always played a key role in shaping political destinies, the BJP had no option but to lean on Nitish's erstwhile Samata Party in its bid to oust Lalu from power. For doing so, it had to allow Nitish to take the centrestage even though the BJP was a bigger party than its coalition partner.

The seasoned leader that he is, Nitish seized the opportunity with both hands to lead the fight against Lalu and succeeded in ending the 15-year-long Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) regime in 2005. The BJP gave Nitish ample support but allowed him to dictate terms within the coalition. But the party's profile has dramatically changed now. The Lok Sabha polls has been the gamechanger. The BJP is in an altogether different role now and its new partners - the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party - currently do not have much say within the alliance.

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How important has the BJP become in Bihar could be gauged from the fact that two of its principal opponents - Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar - have now given up their long-standing enmity and joined forces with a solitary objective to check the party's rise in the state. This opportunistic alliance happened because the duo realised that the party had a bright chance to win the next assembly elections and form the next government in Bihar.

Interestingly, the BJP should thank none other than Nitish Kumar for the rise in its fortunes in Bihar. Had he not severed his party's 17-year-old alliance over the "Modi issue" last year, the BJP would have remained content playing the "yes man" to Nitish. During the eight-and-a-half year-long NDA regime, the saffron party had hardly objected to any of Nitish's decisions despite the fact many of its state MLAs were getting angry with the "dictatorial" attitude of the then chief minister. But the party high command kept backing Nitish under the impression that he alone was capable of preventing Lalu's comeback in the state.

Nitish's decision to opt out of NDA in June last year, therefore, was a blessing in disguise for the BJP. It at first jolted state senior party leaders but later spurred them on to find their own niche under Modi's pro-active leadership. Now, the state BJP is bracing for a direct confrontation with the combined opposition of the RJD, JD(U) and Congress in the coming by-elections to the ten state assembly seats. Though insiders are not talking, the party seems to be confident that the "Modi wave" post the Lok Sabha elections will firmly establish its position as the front-runner among all the parties in a no-holds-barred contest to form the next government in Bihar.

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But the crucial factor is the by-elections. If the BJP manages to defeat this secular alliance in the by-elections, it will galvanise party workers for assembly polls next year. Having played the role of bridesmaid for many years, the BJP hopes that finally it could be the bride in Bihar politics. And that is the feeling on the ground as well. However, if past elections in India have taught us anything it is that anything and everything is possible till the final vote.

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Senior BJP leader in Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi (centre) could become CM if the party wins the state polls next year.

Bollywood actress fights for Bhojpuri

Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra has been fighting for a long time to get Bhojpuri its due. The actress, who made her debut opposite Akshay Kumar and John Abraham in Garam Masala in 2005, had recently produced a critically acclaimed Bhojpuri film, Deswa a couple of years ago to champion the cause of her mother tongue. But this "family film" failed to garner money at the box office. Critics believed that this was because its content was different from the run-of-themill, masala Bhojpuri flicks.

The commercial setback, however, has not deterred the 30-year-old actress. On a recent visit to her hometown Patna, Neetu said that all lover of the Bhojpuri language should join hands to fight for its cause. She also regretted the fact that people from Bihar were fighting shy of speaking in their own languages such as Bhojpuri, Maithili or Magahi when they went to Mumbai or other places. "This does not help our cause," she said.

Neetu, who was in the city to promote a jewellery brand, was also miffed with the quality of Bhojpuri films being produced these days. She said that such films has stopped showing the Bhojpuri way of life onscreen. "We are forgetting our culture," she said. "When our own films do not showcase our culture and way of life how can we expect audience to come to the theatres?"

Get married in a police station

Gone are the days when the Bihar police would get alarmed over the rising number of abduction cases involving youngsters. Going by their experience, they have realised most of the so-called kidnapping cases are incidents of young couples who have run away from their homes to get married. This is known as "honeymoon kidnapping" in the Bihar police parlance.

In a unique trend, these days the police are helping the runaway young lovers get married if they are legally eligible to do so. At Mahila police station in Patna the other day, policemen on duty helped one such couple tie the knot in the police station premises because their parents were opposed to the inter-caste wedding. The couple - Dilip and Soumya - had fallen in love while attending coaching classes in Patna City. They wanted to get married but their parents were opposed Finally, they approached the police for help. After verifying their age, the SHO of the Mahila Thana gave them an offer to solemnise their marriage on the station premises and the happy couple did so in the presence of the police women on duty and came out of the station as the legally wedded husband and wife.

Kabaddi acquires fan following

It was heartening to see the craze for kabaddi during the matches of the ongoing Pro-Kabaddi League that was held in Patna. All the tickets of the matches were sold out in no time as enthusiastic lovers of the game queued up before the ticket counters.

The crowds rooted for the Patna Pirates team but were sporting enough to support the other teams which had come to take part in league matches. Bihar Chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, local MP and Bollywood veteran Shatrughan Sinha and film star Abhishek Bachchan were among the audience to cheer on the players.

Though the local organisers had earlier publicised that actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would accompany her husband she did not show up. But that did not dampen the spirits of the kabaddi buffs. About 8,000 people saw the matches at the Patliputra stadium for four days.

Prior to this tournament, kabaddi players were not popular in the city but many of them have not emerged as big stars. International player Rakesh Kumar, who is the captain of Patna Pirates, had the biggest fan following during the tournament with crowds shouting his name. According to the organisers of the league, Patna's matches which were telecast live on television had the maximum viewing. Given its popularity in Bihar, Chief minister Manjhi said the government is planning to make kabaddi compulsory in schools.

Last updated: September 04, 2014 | 15:57
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