Notwithstanding the middle class particularly the upper caste being highly critical of Nitish for joining hands with Lalu, they preferred to side with their local hero as he was more pragmatic and focused. Frequent changing of track and deriding Nitish and Lalu had not gone well with these people.

Modi had descended in Bihar with the tag of Vikash Purush but within a week he put a new face of OBC PM and just before the fourth phase of the polling he has embellished himself with the EBC PM. Like a versatile actor he has been living different characters on different occasions with the sole aim of enticing the voters.

The desperation to win over the EBC segment is so pronounced that only on October 27, just a day ahead of third phase of election, he pledged, “this son of a poor EBC tea seller will put his life on the line to protect your job quota in the entirety”. As if this was not enough he also went on record: “leaders of the JD(U), RJD and the Congress are conspiring to snatch away the 5 per cent SC, ST and OBC reservation and give it to a religious community. These leaders are making a devious plan. They are conspiring to take away 5 per cent reservation of dalits, mahadalits, backwards and extremely backwards and give it to a particular community. I come from an extremely backward class and understand the pain of having been born to a poor woman. I will not allow this to happen. I pledge to protect the rights of dalits, mahadalits and backwards”.

This sentence coming from the mouth of the prime minister was shocking for the middle class. It was anti climax. The voting pattern and also the percentage of vote cast during the third phase in fact the most crucial phase, did not reflect the participation of the urban people. Their dislike for Lalu is pronounced but they abhor this nature of communal speech. They wondered how could the prime minister utter these words? Modi’s effort to titillate the communal imagination did not work. Nitish later ridiculed, “There is no fact in the PM’s allegation of us plotting to take away 5 per cent reservation from SC, ST and OBC to give it to a particular community.”

His desperation to win over the EBC simply alienated the urban people. Incidentally, Modi became of the same syndrome which threw out the Congress from the power in 2014. If Modi failed to identify with the urban middle class he is yet to align with the EBC and mahadalits.

Modi had spoken of staking his life if an attempt was made to snatch reservation. But this was purely a gimmick. This he simply said to dispel the impression created by the remark of the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to scrap reservation. Initially Modi and the BJP tried to defend reservation but failed to reach out to the EBC for assuaging their feelings. Lalu Yadav had scored a point by putting Bhagwat in the dock. This stand of Modi made these people skeptical of his moves and intentions.

His remarks do not reflect the historical and political reality. Lalu has been second in command of V P Singh crusade for reservation. For last 25 years people have seen him upholding the cause of backward castes. Lalu was even acknowledged as the messiah of the backward castes in Bihar. With emergence of Nitish as the new face of social justice the EBC has come out to assert its separate identity. Both these leaders have been surviving on the backward caste and mahadalit politics. It is really strange that in this backdrop how could Modi say that both of them were conspiring to snatch reservation?

Lalu made a point to remind the OBC and EBC people that BJP had organized self immolation protest after V P Singh government had accepted the recommendations of the Mandal Commission on reservation. True enough Modi has found a match for himself in Lalu. He would not allow any occasion to reply to Modi’s jibes and barbs. The most unsavory remark from Modi has been against Lalu’s daughter. At a rally Modi said; “Lalu tried to promote his family rule by first trying to set “bechari beti” (helpless daughter—referring to Misa) in the Lok Sabha and now trying to push his son Tejshwai with poor academic background.”

Using word bechari was indeed disgraceful. But in his ebullience to show Lalu in bad light, Modi used this word. Earlier Modi had used Shaitan for Lalu. However Misa was quick to retaliate; “I will sue Modi for his bechari comment”. Lalu too did not spare him. He challenged him to use this language against the daughter of an upper caste leader. Astonishingly how could prime minister use such language? This has evoked strong reaction from the Yadavs. This has further consolidated Yadavs behind Lalu. Modi’s jibe has backfired.

Lalu also tweeted: 'Modiji has insulted women and naari shakti by using highly-indecent and offensive words like `set karna' (to set) for someone's daughter or sister. A woman is a mother, daughter, a daughter-in-law, wife, sister and Lakshmi of the home,' Lalu said. 'Modiji, mahila-shakti ko apmanit karna band karo. Pad ki garima ka dhyan rakho (Modiji, stop insulting the country's women and maintain the decorum associated with the prime minister's post)'. This has been well received by the women who surpassed the male voters by 3 per cent. While this increase is described as a rebuttal to Modi’s utterances, it is also attributed to Nitish’s effort to provide security to the women and his promise to make Bihar free from drink.

With two phases of polling left, the people have now started comparing the development model of Nitish and Modi. Though critical of Nitish for failing to create jobs the people feel that he has been sincere to the task. Nitish is credited with reaching out to the dalits and rural poor and work to ameliorate their economic lives. In contrast the promises of Modi are yet to take a shape. Modi digressing from the development issue has been seriously taken by the people.

How much importance the saffron brigade has been attaching to this election could be gauged from the fact that for the 4th and 5th phase of the polling the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has decided to deploy nearly 5,000 pracharaks, particularly in the Muslim dominated areas. Their main focus of course has been the Purvanchal from where Owaissi is also trying to test his popularity amongst the Muslims. The RSS pracharaks have been instructed to frame the election as a matter of 'Hindu self-esteem' ('Hindu swabhimaan ka chunav':an election for Hindu self-esteem) A BJP defeat, Sangh cadres are telling voters in Bihar, will be a blow to this self-esteem. And only a vote for BJP will keep Hindus 'safe', say RSS campaigners. The campaign is focusing mainly on dalits.

Ironically Sangh has divided the Muslims in five different sects; Suryavanshi, Parchaiyya, Bangladeshi, Deshi and Shias. 'We are telling Hindus that some Muslims such as the Deshi and Suryavanshi are not aggressive. Others are aggressive. They are desperately trying to convince the Hindus that they would be safe under BJP rule. (IPA Service)