With Bihar voting in the final phase of the Assembly elections Tuesday, all eyes are now on its results to be announced Friday. The Bihar story remained in the spotlight in the Urdu press, dominating its coverage over the week as the dailies reported and analysed the entire gamut of this riveting face-off between the incumbent BJP-led NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc, whose outcome may have a significant impact on national politics.
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URDU TIMES
As a blast in a moving car near Red Fort in the national capital killed at least nine people and wounded several others, sending shock waves across the country, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its November 11 editorial, notes that the incident occurred a day after the police recovered a massive quantity of explosives from a premise in Haryana’s Faridabad near Delhi. “The investigating agencies must conduct a speedy and thorough probe into this blast which has shaken the entire nation,” it says. While investigators and forensic experts are looking into all aspects of the blast, the perpetrators must be brought to justice expeditiously and given exemplary punishment, the edit says. “A fast-track court should be set up to try this case,” it says, adding that “this is a matter of public safety as well as national security”.
The daily states that the entire inquiry must be conducted transparently to ensure that no innocent person is sent behind bars. The timing of the explosion is curious, it says. “The agencies must investigate the blast deeply to ascertain how it happened and whether there is any larger conspiracy behind it,” the editorial says. “While every citizen should be vigilant, the agencies should also avoid jumping to any conclusion without thoroughly conducting the probe.”
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URDU TIMES
Referring to voting for 122 constituencies in the second phase of the Bihar elections, Urdu Times, in its November 8 leader, points out that following the first phase of polling for 121 seats, which saw a record 65.08% turnout, various projections and claims have been made. “Some quarters have predicted that the NDA would return to power while some others have claimed that the Mahagathbandhan has an edge,” it says. Various reports highlighted that a large section of women have rallied round Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, especially in the wake of his decision to transfer Rs 10,000 to every woman’s account under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana (MMRY), the editorial notes. The youth vote could also be an “agent for ushering in change” in the state, it says.
Bihar’s migrants working in several states including Maharashtra may also play a key role in determining the outcome of the elections, the daily states.
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“These migrant workers have returned to Bihar in large numbers to exercise their franchise, which may be tilted in favour of change,” it claims. While the Bihar election is a straight fight between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj and Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM may have some impact on it, possibly playing a role even in government formation in the event of a hung verdict, the edit claims. The Muslim vote may also be a decisive factor in this election, it says. “The NDA’s campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused on raking up Lalu Prasad’s ‘jungle raj’ rather than giving an account to the people of its nearly 20-year rule in Bihar,” it adds.
SIASAT
Noting that the Election Commission (EC) has rolled out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories (UTs) as part of the proposed pan-India exercise, the Hyderabad-based Siasat, in its November 8 editorial, says that it has caused confusion and disquiet among sections of people across the country. “This unease has stemmed from the contentious SIR in Bihar, whose voter lists are still marked with anomalies, even as there have been allegations that the EC launched the entire move to benefit the BJP,” it claims.
The edit says several allegations of double-voting and electoral irregularities have been made in the Bihar polls, adding that some BJP leaders have been accused of voting in Delhi as well as in Bihar. “Rahul Gandhi has been alleging that the BJP had stolen the Maharashtra and Haryana elections through ‘vote chori’. The EC has not squarely addressed these allegations, which the poll body should do as per its mandate.”
The daily states that many people in Bihar could not cast their votes as their names had been deleted from the rolls due to the SIR process. “This has reinforced allegations that the SIR is aimed at manipulating the voter lists through selective deletions and additions. Such charges and concerns have put a question mark over the exercise, bringing the EC under a cloud of suspicion,” it says. Also, if the SIR has turned out to be such a controversial affair in Bihar, it may have wider repercussions during its implementation in the entire country, the edit says. “The EC’s image has been dented due to the SIR row. To restore its credibility, it must act as per the Constitution and not on any government directives.”