Change & no-change on caste course

Sachchidanand Jha / TNN / Oct 20, 2005, 02:32 IST

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NDA is for the first time in its 8-year history seriously eyeing RJD's much-vaunted Muslim-Yadav votebank.

PATNA: Veering around to the political arithmetic that has perhaps unfailingly delivered the highest scores in Bihar's electoral conundrum, the NDA is for the first time in its eight-year history seriously eyeing the RJD's much-vaunted Muslim-Yadav (MY) votebank.
Constituent JD(U) in particular has unleashed an aggressive campaign to nibble into, and perhaps even take a big mouthful of, this consolidated vote pool that has traditionally gone Lalu Prasad's way.
For this end, the NDA has drafted two stalwarts �� Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Sharad Yadav, both former Union ministers from the state �� to make a concerted bid to dent Lalu's unbridled sway over the Muslim vote.
The NDA's chief ministerial candidate, Nitish Kumar, is also playing by the new rules; ensuring that these two leaders are seen together in as many election meetings as possible. In a calculated move, the JD(U) had launched a publicity blitz in the run-up to the polls to project the support it enjoys of various Muslim organisations.

And unlike previous polls, its concerted efforts have paid off this time to win over quite a few of these. Hussain is a key trump card in this delicate maneouvre. After all, he has been the BJP's Muslim face since he trounced top RJD leader Mohd Taslimuddin in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls.
A grateful Vajpayee had promptly rewarded him with a plush Cabinet portfolio. THe BJP now looks up to Hussain to deliver at this crucial juncture. The strapping young minister had addressed more than 35 meetings with Sharad Yadav till Sunday, when the campaign ended for the first phase.

And he is still counting. This has not been an isolated effort hastily put together for the elections. Hussain and Yadav had also addressed several meetings together during the five-phase Nyaya rath yatra taken out by Kumar to protest the dissolution of the Assembly and demand the Governor's recall.
Senior NDA leaders told TOI that while Muslims may still not vote for the BJP nominees, the combine is eyeing as many minority votes as possible for the allies. The JD(U) is contesting 141 seats and the BJP 102. NDA leaders maintain that Yadavs had voted in large numbers for both the BJP and the JD(U) in the February elections.
To buttress the claim they point out that the RJD had lost 14 seats to the NDA in Yadav-dominated pockets such as in Madhepura, Saharsa and Supaul in February. And the BJP had wrested Danapur and Patna East, traditional Yadav strongholds, with ease. Hussain is confident that Muslims have softened towards the BJP.
"They no longer go out of the way to vote en bloc to defeat the BJP nominees." The RJD, however, is confident about cashing in on its Muslim votebank once again this time too. Senior leader of the minority cell Papu Khan said his party will "sweep the entire Muslim vote" this time.

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