'LJP damaged JD(U); BJP gained due to Nitish Kumar': Pappu Yadav weighs in on Bihar trends

Weighing in on the Bihar poll trends on Tuesday, Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik) chief Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav opined that LJP has damaged JD(U) to a great extent. Terming this as a part of BJP's plan, he mentioned that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's voter base had remained loyal. In fact, he contended that BJP got more votes owing to Kumar's charisma.

While conceding that NDA has the upper hand, Yadav stated that the ruling alliance shall not win a big majority. On this occasion, he called for EVMs to be done away with. The JAP(L) president is the Chief Ministerial candidate of the 'Progressive Democratic Alliance' also comprising Chandrasekhar Azad Ravan's Azad Samaj Party, the Bahujan Mukti Party and the Social Democratic Party of India. However, he is trailing behind the JD(U) and RJD candidates from the Madhepura constituency as of 4.11 pm as per the EC trends.

Read: 'NDA Will Come Forward': BJP-JD(U) Confidence Intact As MGB Leads Marathon In Early Trends

JAP(L) president Pappu Yadav remarked, "I feel that LJP has damaged Nitish Kumar to a great extent. BJP’s plan has succeeded. But Nitish Kumar’s voter remained loyal. I feel that the voter could not be separated from Nitish Kumar. BJP got votes because of Nitish Kumar."

"I don’t think they will get a big majority. It will stop at around 120-122. NDA has the upper hand," he added. 

Read: As NDA Leads, Manoj Tiwari Says Congress Affected RJD's Performance In Bihar Elections

Bihar Assembly election

The Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, Congress, CPI(M-L), CPI, and CPM is perceived as the principal challenger to the ruling NDA alliance consisting of BJP, JD(U), VIP, and HAM(S). Some of the other alliances in the fray include the 'Progressive Democratic Alliance' who has projected Jan Adhikar Party chief Pappu Yadav as the CM face and the 'United Democratic Secular Alliance' with former Upendra Kushwaha as the CM candidate.The 2020 election witnessed a voter turnout of 57.05% as against that of 56.66% in the 2015 polls. As per the EC trends at 4.13 pm, the ruling NDA alliance is leading in 132 seats in contrast to the Mahagatbandhan which has secured a lead only from 101 constituencies. 

Read: Bihar Election: Khushbu Sundar Takes A Dig At Congress, Predicts 'shift' For TN Polls