Bihar polls: Scramble for Muslim votes

Kishanganj, Patna: It\'s the battle to capture a votebank, that comprises 16 percent of Bihar \'s total population. With Assembly elections in the state starting in four days, politicians are going all out to try and win over Bihar\'s sizeable Muslim population.



\"People should be wary of forces that try to divide society, and should also be wary of those who side with them,\" said Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister.



This veiled reference by the Prime Minister, to Nitish Kumar and his party\'s alliance with the BJP, is an attempt to consolidate the Muslim vote behind the Congress party.



For Nitish Kumar, it has been a catch-22 situation. His party\'s alliance with the BJP in Bihar almost ended in June this year, over the issue of Narendra Modi trying to gain a footing in Bihar politics, ahead of the BJP\'s national executive meeting in Patna.



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Ensuring then Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi have not campaigned for the BJP in Bihar, is seen as a bid by Nitish to keep his Muslim vote-base intact. More recently, the BJP\'s subdued response to the Ayodhya vedict was also seen to be a move with the Bihar elections in mind.



And then there is Lalu Yadav, once the architect of the famous Muslim-Yadav combine in Bihar, now trying to recapture the Muslim votebank in the state after the RJD \'s drubbing at the hands of Nitish Kumar in last year\'s Lok Sabha elections.



In fact, so unsure is Lalu of Muslim votes, that he is doing the unthinkable by openly canvassing for upper caster votes.



\"Everyone is with us, especially the upper caste, no one will vote for Nitish,\" said Lalu Yadav, president, RJD.



But with development an issue like never before this election, the battle for the Muslim vote has only got tougher for politicians in Bihar.



\"We will vote for that person who we think can actually do something to develop this place. Lalu used to say all Muslims were with him, but I don\'t think that is the case any longer,\" said Mohd Ghayasuddin, resident, Kishanganj.




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