It is going to be a tough test both for the candidates and the voters as Bihar goes to polls in the first phase tomorrow amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

A total of 71 assembly constituencies spread over 16 districts of the state go to polls in the first phase.

Even as the Election Commission claims to have initiated sufficient measures to remove fear of the pandemic from the minds of voters, the latter appear to be panicky, given the number of lives the pandemic has claimed and the way the cases have registered a sudden spike after the start of political activities.

According to a report of the Bihar health department, Covid-19 has claimed 1065 lives in the state and infected more than 2 lakh people.

Authorities said the Election Commission has taken adequate steps for safe conduct of polling, which include lowering the cap on maximum number of voters for a polling booth from 1,600 to 1,000, staggering of polling hours and postal ballots for those above 80.

Apart from these, intensive efforts have been launched for massive sanitization of electronic voting machines (EVMs), providing masks to the voters and making available thermal scanners, hand sanitizers, soaps, gloves and waters at the polling booth.

But what has panicked the voters is that currently top five BJP leaders, all star campaigners, were forced to quit the poll campaign midway after coming in the grip of the coronavirus. They included Sushil Kumar Modi, deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, party’s Bihar election in-charge, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, MP, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, national spokesperson and Mangal Pandey, Bihar health minister. It’s to be seen if the masses rush to the polling booths to cast their ballots or stay away from the poll process, but one thing is sure ~ that the voting percentage will register a significant fall.

Although there are many alliances in the fray, it is going to be a straight contest between the ruling NDA and the opposition Grand Alliance headed by Tejashwi Yadav.

The way huge crowds are attending each rally of Tejashwi and the chief minister Nitish Kumar facing protests at his rallies amply hint at anger against the ruling regime. What remains very alarming is the deteriorating level of the chief minister’s election speeches at his rallies.

Although he has made personal attacks against Tejashwi on many occasions, what has drawn strong objection is Nitish’s “explanation” about why RJD chief Lalu Prasad has so many children. “Does anyone care? They have eight-nine children. They have no faith in daughters. The son was born after many daughters,” the chief minister told an election rally in Vaishali district on Monday, in an oblique reference to RJD president Lalu Prasad. This comment has drawn strong protests from various quarters with observers linking it to the “growing desperation” of the chief minister.

The first phase polling will decide the fate of as many as six NDA ministers and a former chief minister. They include Prem Kumar, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Ram Narayan Mandal, Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma, Jai Kumar Singh, Santosh Kumar Nirala, all ministers in the current NDA government and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi who returned to the NDA just ahead of the polls.