Bihar polls 2015: CM Nitish Kumar bets on numerous small rallies to counter PM Narendra Modi's high-pitched rallies

NEW DELHI: As Bihar assembly election kicks off with 49 constituencies going to polls on Monday, the campaigning strategies of the two main protagonists — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Nitish Kumar — resemble the rival election mobilisation during Delhi assembly elections early this year.

In Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal had successfully resorted to numerous small rallies in most assembly constituencies to mobilise voters, while BJP bet on Modi’s high-profile rallies. Now, Kumar seems to be relying on such a strategy to counter Modi’s big rallies in Bihar.

The PM has had five high-profile rallies — Banka, Munger, Begusarai, Samastipur and Nawada — this month apart from one at Bhagalpur in September. That means he has addressed rallies in six out of 10 districts of south-eastern parts of Bihar that go to polls in the first phase. Kumar, in contrast, has held only one mega rally with Lalu Prasad in Patna in late August and after that it has been constituency-wise rallies.

According to the election rally schedules in September. That means he has addressed rallies in six out of 10 districts of south-eastern parts of Bihar that go to polls in the first phase.

Kumar, in contrast, has held only one mega rally with Lalu Prasad in Patna in late August and after that it has been constituency-wise rallies.

According to the election rally schedules released by Nitish Kumar’s Twitter handle, in the last 10 days of campaigning in October the Bihar chief minister addressed more than three dozen rallies across as many assembly segments that vote on Monday. However, Kumar’s rallies were smaller in comparison to Modi’s rallies that created larger ripples.

Also, BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had a larger battery of leaders, including party chief Amit Shah, home minister Rajnath Singh, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, and transport minister Nitin Gadkari, campaigning in the first leg of polls.

“Unlike the BJP which has a large number of national leaders, the grand alliance could be considered handicapped in the fact that it has only two big leaders — Nitish (Kumar) and Lalu (Prasad) — to match the BJP’s rally power,” a JD(U) campaign manager confided to ET.