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Patna, Nov 10 (IANS) The campaign for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections ended on Monday evening as 122 constituencies across 20 districts will now go to polls on Tuesday.
This election is being described as historic because many new political changes have emerged simultaneously.
The absence of Lalu Prasad Yadav, the formal entry of Prashant Kishor, a surge in welfare promises, the arrest of musclemen, and the revival of the jungle raj versus good governance debate – all dominated the 35-day campaign cycle.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the most intensive campaigner this season, addressing 16 rallies between October 24 and November 8.
He used the term Jungle Raj in every speech and – unusually – also defined it as katta, cruelty, bitterness, abuse and corruption, which are symbols of Jungle Raj.
His emphasis was more on the Lalu-Rabri era than on the track record of Nitish Kumar.
New phrases like katta (country-made gun), kanpati (temple), donali gunk (double barrel gun), chharra (shrapnel), nachania (dancer) and baap (father) entered the campaign vocabulary for the first time from the stage.
In an attempt to build rapport with the Mallah (fisherman) community, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi adopted a completely different approach this time.
In Begusarai, he along with Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahni descended into a pond and cast a fishing net – the visuals of which went viral.
In his speeches, he hit back at the BJP’s jungle raj narrative, alleging that those who talk about jungle raj in Bihar are running jungle raj in Delhi. He also accused BJP and Election Commission of vote theft.
This grassroots connection was seen as a new experiment within the Congress.
For political strategist turned leader Prashant Kishore, this election was his formal debut.
His Jan Suraj, established on October 2, 2024, fielded candidates on 240 seats.
The size of their public meetings indicated that voters were looking for an alternative, turning it into a three-cornered contest rather than the traditional NDA versus Grand Alliance battle.
Kishor attacked both factions and regularly presented documents accusing leaders of all parties of corruption.
The murder of Jan Suraj supporter Dularchand Yadav in Mokama on 30 October gave rise to a major political controversy.
It is alleged that the dispute with the team of JDU candidate Anant Singh reached the point of firing.
Dularchand was first shot in the leg and then allegedly run over by a vehicle.
After this Anant Singh was arrested and lodged in Beur jail of Patna.
This incident reshaped the narrative, with gun violence again becoming a topic of discussion in the state.
There is a tussle going on within the Grand Alliance regarding presenting the face for the post of Chief Minister.
Until the Congress leadership intervened, Tejashwi Yadav and Mukesh Sahni continued to clash over the post.
On October 23, Tejashwi was named the CM face and Sahni was named the Deputy CM face.
Disagreements over seat allocation led to rebellions in about a dozen constituencies.
Meanwhile, the NDA has not announced a formal CM candidate, but the BJP has repeatedly underlined that Nitish Kumar will lead and there is no vacancy for the post.
Along with attacks on Lalu family, allegations of corruption against NDA officials were also prominent.
Kishor released documents and daily social-media revelations targeting BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal (over a medical college), JDU leader Ashok Chaudhary (over a land scam), and Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary (over alleged age fudging).
This forced the NDA to react on the defensive on several occasions.
The first phase of voting saw a record participation of 65 per cent – the highest in any assembly election in Bihar.
Of the 121 seats in 18 districts, 71.4 percent voting took place in Muzaffarpur and 58.4 percent in Patna.
This turnout is being widely interpreted as a marker of voters wanting change.
This election has also generated an unprecedented increase in welfare promises.
Nitish Kumar announced cash transfers for women, higher pensions, benefits for laborers and 125 free power units.
In response, Tejashwi Yadav promised a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 for each woman, one government job per family, regularization of contractual workers and a one-time transfer of Rs 30,000 for women on January 14 if elected.
Analysts say the intensity of the Kalyan bid is the highest ever seen in Bihar.
A video of Union Minister Lalan Singh had gone viral in which he was seen saying that the opposition should not come out of the house on the day of voting.
Tejashwi Yadav reacted sharply and asked if this was someone’s personal empire and alleged that extremely backward classes and Dalits were being threatened. He said that Bihar will answer with its votes.
The second big rhetorical issue in this phase came from the conversation between Tejashwi-Asaduddin Owaisi.
Tejashwi called Owaisi an extremist and accused him of dividing Muslim votes in Seemanchal.
Owaisi hit back, saying, “We bow before Allah, not before Tejashwi or Modi” and alleged that those who once termed bearded, cap-wearing people as terrorists are now tuning in to Modi’s language.
This series of comments became a major talking point in Muslim-majority areas.
BJP and Congress also came face to face on the issue of Jungle Raj.
PM Modi alleged that there was zero development in Bihar during fifteen years of “Jungle Raj”.
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi replied that there is jungle raj in Delhi, where ED, CBI and hate machinery run.
The hashtag #JungleRaj trended heavily across platforms during the final phase of the campaign.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh made provocative comment – ‘If there is trouble, we will have to wear burqa’. Tejashwi criticized him and said that burqa is the right of women and politics cannot be done on it.
The remarks sparked a religion-based debate, which was condemned by opposition parties and civil society groups.
Overall, this phase of the campaign was not just an exchange of welfare promises but a competition of stories.
BJP and PM Modi put forward law and order and good governance as binaries against the Lalu-Rabri era.
The Grand Alliance put forward unemployment, inflation and social justice.
Prashant Kishor introduced a third pole, which destabilized the established electoral calculus.
The buzz around jailed musclemen, announcements of cash transfers and polarizing comments made it one of the most charged election cycles in recent Bihar history.
On November 11, it will be the voters’ verdict that will decide whether Bihar moves forward with its established political alliance – or whether 2025 marks a disruptive departure.
–IANS
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