Bihar polls: Fadnavis pitches 'no anti-incumbency' argument, in favour of timely elections

Speaking to the media during his tour of Bihar, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday asserted that the NDA government will be re-elected in the upcoming Assembly polls. Observing that there is no anti-incumbency in any part of the state, the former Maharashtra CM opined that the people of Bihar had a lot of affection for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to him, the people's perception of the Nitish Kumar-led government was largely positive. 

Commenting on the demand to delay the polls amid the COVID-19 crisis, Fadnavis stated that conducting the election is a constitutional responsibility. The Bihar Assembly polls have to be completed before November 29, 2020, barring for which President's Rule will have to be imposed. Arguing against the postponement of the election, the BJP leader reckoned that ít would be unwise to have an unelected government at a juncture when the state is grappling with so many challenges. 

Devendra Fadnavis remarked, "Firstly, I did not see anti-incumbency anywhere in Bihar. The people of Bihar have a lot of trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Especially, the poor and underprivileged sections of the society have a lot of love and affection for him. Besides this, people believed that the government of Nitish Kumar and Sushil Kumar Modi has done well despite the challenges. Bihar has progressed. They will re-elect this government."

"Conducting the election is a constitutional responsibility. Because the President's Rule will have to be imposed if the new Assembly is not chosen within a timeframe. Amid so many challenges, it won't be right to have an unelected government. I am confident that people want to elect this government despite the challenge of COVID-19," he added.

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Bihar polls to be clubbed with other by-elections

Recently, the Election Commission of India announced that the Bihar Assembly polls and 65 by-elections in various states shall be clubbed together. While there are 64 vacancies in State Legislative Assemblies, the bypoll to one Lok Sabha seat is also pending. The Commission noted that conducting all the aforesaid elections at the same time will facilitate the movement of Central Armed Police Forces and related logistics issues. In a statement, the ECI said that the schedule of these polls will be declared at an "appropriate time".

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