In Bihar, Congress' Usmani's stage falls as he says 'people know when to someone fall'

The poll season in Bihar is witnessing high-octane speeches, personal attacks by leaders across parties and massive crowds even amid the COVID pandemic. Now, on Thursday, the stage of Congress Jale candidate Maskoor Usmani fell immediately when he said that 'in a Democracy, people are well aware when to make a person the ruler and when to make him fall.' Usmani was addressing a poll rally and he said, "It is democracy, people choose their leaders, people know when to elect them and when to make them fall." Just as he finished his sentence, the stage fell taking Usmani and other Congress leaders down.

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Who is Maskoor Usmani?

A controversy broke out ahead of Bihar elections as the Congress party gave ticket to former Aligarh Muslim University Student’s Union chief Maskoor Usmani. The grand-old party has chosen him to contest from Jale assembly constituency in Darbhanga district. 

Usmani was a student union chief in AMU in 2017 and had made headlines after BJP Aligarh MP Satish Gautam wrote to the university vice-chancellor objecting to the portrait of Pakistan's father of nation Mohammad Ali Jinnah that is hung in the University. Usmani was then accused of raising anti-national slogans. In 2019, he was booked under sedition for the same, but charges were later dropped. However, AMU administration had stated that the portrait of Jinnah was put up in the University since 1938 and he has been given a 'lifetime membership'. Others, including Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, were also given 'lifetime membership' and their portraits are also placed in the University.

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Bihar assembly elections 2020

Polling in 71 seats in the first phase of Bihar assembly elections was completed on October 28, with voter turnout at 54.26%. The other two phases of the Bihar election are on November 3 and November 7, and the results will be announced on November 10. 

Incumbent Nitish Kumar is seeking reelection and is the CM face for the NDA. Mahagathbandhan has chosen Tejashwi Yadav as their CM face. The BJP is contesting on a seat-sharing formula of 121-122 seats with the JDU and Mukesh Sahni of Vikasheel Insaan party and Jitan Ram Manjhi of HAM(S), while LJP will contest solo. Mahagathbandhan comprising of Congress and three left parties have are contesting on seat-sharing formula of 144-70-29 seats respectively. 

There are two other alliances in fray - Owaisi's AIMIM has stitched an alliance with Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP, Mayawati's BSP, Devendra Yadav's SJDD, and SBSP called 'Grand Democratic Secular Front'. The alliance has fielded Kushwaha as the chief ministerial face. Another alliance named 'Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA)', consist of Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party, MK Faizi's Social Democratic Party and Bahujan Mukti Party. They have made Pappu Yadav their CM face.

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