243. It is the total number of seats in Bihar Assembly and though the elections for these seats are yet to declared, it is certain that the bugle will be sounded shortly. Also certain are various other things this time in Bihar, like Congress coming out of ICU, people voting in large numbers and youth participating with a new hope. New equations are being formed in the run up to the polls and battle-lines being drawn. Some say it will be a three-cornered contest. Others say it would be four-cornered.

Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister there and his party Janata Dal (United) has an alliance with the Bhartiya Janta Party with which Kumar maintains a good rapport. There are several ‘top’ leaders in Bihar. All major political parties also have their presence in the state. Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, Ramvilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Paty, Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party and Prakash Karat-A.B. Bardhan’s brand of Communism are well known to all there.

As said, poll calendar has not been unveiled. Maybe the elections will be held in October! Or November. But the people of Bihar are witnessing new poll equations everyday, in their colonies, on the streets, at the tea stalls. And why not when even the small-time politicians are moving around in Delhi in whites, carrying Bihar maps.

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