Parties go all out as campaign for Bihar polls 1st phase ends

PATNA: Heat and dust of cheek-by-jowl rallies fused with war of words on social media as campaigning ended Tuesday for the first phase of Bihar polls on Nov 6 in 121 of its 243 assembly seats. More than 3.75 crore electors are expected to cast their votes at 45,341 polling stations to decide the fate of 1,314 candidates.

As campaigning concluded at 6pm, governing NDA and INDIA bloc-led opposition left no stone unturned to reach out to voters. Union minister Amit Shah addressed three rallies, defence minister Rajnath Singh five, BJP president JP Nadda two and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi three. PM Narendra Modi interacted with state BJP women workers virtually, and CM Nitish Kumar addressed meetings, as did INDIA bloc's CM face Tejashwi Yadav of RJD. Adding to BJP's blitz, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and former Union minister Smriti Irani joined the campaign.

Prominent seats in this phase include Raghopur, where Tejashwi is hoping for a hat-trick; Mahua, where Tejashwi's elder brother and ex-minister Tej Pratap Yadav is trying his luck with a new outfit; & Tarapur, from where deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of BJP is in the fray.

Other key seats are Alinagar, where singer Maithili Thakur is the BJP nominee. In Lakhisarai, another deputy CM, Vijay Kumar Sinha, is trying to save his fort. Mokama has in the fray Anant Kumar Singh of JDU, a don-turned-politician recently jailed over the murder of Jan Suraaj supporter Dular Chand Yadav.

Chhapra has a dramatic duel too, with RJD fielding Bhojpuri film star Khesari Lal Yadav against Chhoti Kumari of the BJP, who has won the seat three times earlier.

Away from the raucous roadshows and rallies, the campaign is also being waged from silent "war rooms" - social media hubs set up by parties to reach out to voters, especially youths and Gen Z. Operating 24x7, these hubs are the unsung architects of electoral fortunes, blending AI-driven voter profiling with old-school booth management.

BJP's war room is led by Rohan Gupta, a seasoned strategist from BJP's national IT cell. His team comprises around 150 volunteers. From crafting viral slogans like "2025, Phir Se Nitish" to coordinating Nitish Kumar's projection as the alliance's face, every move is data-driven.

"Mission 225", command centre of JDU, posts content focused on Nitish's achievements, remixed into Bhojpuri reels, highlighting liquor bans & women quotas. "We must remain active on the internet, provide a strong response to every allegation from opposition and highlight our achievements," JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said.

RJD's "war room" aims to win Bihar with a mix of viral memes, voter huddles and rapid-response fire. Led by Manoj Jha, the party's national spokesperson, the team has 80-100 volunteers.