OWAISI AND PATEL, THE 2 JOKERS IN THE BIHAR PACK

NEW DELHI: Two unguided missiles are set to burst on the Bihar political scene, firming up their campaign plans, and hoping to create a dent in their respective constituencies. They have little in common, one a powerful orator, the other rather insignificant in his oratory and yet both seem to nurture national ambitions and are looking towards Bihar to take them further on this trajectory. Both of course, are adept at playing community and caste politics.

Interestingly one is seen as a Bharatiya Janata Party “agent”, and the other as being backed by the RSS dissident lobby and other individuals from the same side of the fence. Both allegations, remain in the shadowy arena, with no real proof except political perception feeding into the charge.

One is All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi who has started fancying himself as a Muslim leader, using his skilful oratory to address the community and consolidate the vote. He has a strong support base in Old Hyderabad city, that remains unshaken, largely because of the work done by his father who was also a MP and seemingly more respected in the area than his sons.

The other is Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel who has taken Gujarat by storm, organising massive rallies that shook the government both in the state and the centre. His emergence has been a cause of major surprise, and speculation with no one sure as to who is really behind him. However given his statements till date, he is from the hard right and clearly has his roots there. However, he has shaken Gujarat and has become the rallying point for Patels who are still behind him, albeit quieter and more peaceful now as he is being chased by the police.

Owaisi wants reservations for Muslims. Patel wants reservations for the Patels.

But here the similarity ends. Owaisi is set to contest 20 plus seats in Seemanchal and has started addressing public meetings. Patel will use the forthcoming elections in the state to address the Kurmi community but will not be contesting seats.

Owaisi is set to help the BJP in the state, as his oratory was expected to make a dent in the Muslim vote that has otherwise consolidated behind the alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He has been attacking the alliance, and more specifically Nitish Kumar in his speeches in the Seemanchal region which he is concentrating on.

Patel, on the other hand, has already declared his support for the chief minister. “Nitish Kumar is a good man and belongs to our community. Hence, we will support him in the election,” the 22 year old has said. Kumar also had supported him during his protests in Gujarat. Patel will be addressing Kurmi rallies where is expected to direct the community towards the JD(U) led alliance, away from the BJP.

Owaisi did a short flip flop initially. He first announced his decision to contest the polls, he then withdrew, and then returned to contest 24 odd seats. He is now finding it difficult to escape the charge of being a “BJP agent”, a label that seems to be sticking to him according to reports from the state. Local media has carried extensive coverage of the Seemanchal constituencies with local Muslims dismissing him as a man working for the BJP. It remains to be seen how this develops as the days roll into the elections, the first phase on October 12.

Both Owaisi and Patel want to use the Bihar polls as a launching pad on to the national stage. But initial trends indicate that one, the Muslims that Owaisi is addressing are not willing to be drawn into the communal cauldron he is seen to represent and at the moment at least appear to be consolidated behind Nitish Kumar. And two, Patel might not harm the Chief Minister but probably has no real clout to sway the vote either way in Bihar where the election is very local now, increasingly so as the campaign by the JD(U)-RJD alliance of “Bihar for Biharis” seems to be gathering momentum.

Thus,the flip side of the picture for both Owaisi and Patel is oblivion as the political fight between the main protagonists is becoming hard and intense, and the wild cards that had hoped to realise their ambitions, might just find that they are really the jokers in the Bihar pack that no one really wants.

AIMIM would provide the right cues to the Hindutva forces to polarise Bihar polity along communal lines, said Syed Ahmad Qadri, member of the Bihar Urdu Academy, the body created to protect and promote Urdu language and culture.