PATNA: It was a complete washout for most of the regional and smaller parties, including the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), Samajwadi Janata Dal (Secular), Suhjeldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Janvadi Socialist, Azad Samaj Party, Social Democratic Party, Bahujan Mukti Party and the Plurals Party.
The Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP, which had forged the Grand Democratic Secular Alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, failed to open its account even as Owaisi’s party managed to win five seats in Seemanchal.
Pappu Yadav’s JAP, which too had forged the Progressive Democratic Alliance with a few other parties, including Chandrasekhar Azad’s Bhim Army, also scored a duck. Yadav himself lost from Madhepura.
Meera Singh, a Patna-based educationist and poll analyst, said that “political awareness has increased to such an extent” that the people now keep in mind the victory prospect of a party and the candidates’ performance before voting.
DM Diwakar, former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Study, said with the rising political consciousness at the grassroots level, the success rate of smaller parties is dipping. Only the AIMIM emerged as a major factor in Seemanchal.
“It dented the RJD’s vote bank, with Owaisi raising the CAA-NRC bogey and polarizsng minority voters,” said Md Hooda, a retired university teacher. Local poll observers said the AIMIM got Dalit votes, too.