Sharad Pawar said Bihar voters appear ready for change in the ongoing assembly elections.
The NCP chief cited Bihar’s historic political movements and its aware electorate.
Pawar praised Rahul Gandhi for exposing electoral roll irregularities and urged ECI action.
Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he would not be surprised if the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) loses the Bihar assembly elections, noting that people in the state appear to be seeking change.
Speaking to reporters, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief said Bihar stands apart from other states and has played a defining role in India’s political history.
According to PTI, Pawar stated that although he has not campaigned in Bihar, feedback from his contacts in the state suggests growing discontent with the current government. “People of Bihar want change,” he said.
He described Bihar as a “poor state with politically aware citizens,” recalling several turning points in Indian politics that originated there — Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran movement, Jayaprakash Narayan’s agitation against the Emergency, and Indira Gandhi’s visit to Belchi on an elephant when she was in Opposition.
Bihar recorded a voter turnout of 65.08 per cent in the first phase of polling earlier this week — the highest in its electoral history. The ruling NDA is hoping to retain power, banking on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s two-decade-long tenure, while the Opposition, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), is focusing its campaign on issues of governance and employment.
Pawar also praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for highlighting alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls. He said the Election Commission of India should take Gandhi’s complaints seriously and act on them, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI)
