PATNA: If activity in the offices of political parties is anything to go by, then the Rashtriya Janata Dal should breast the tape when the votes for the Bihar elections are counted on Tuesday.
“Munna aao, kal ladoo milega tum ko bhi (Munna come, you will also get ladoo tomorrow),” a party worker could be heard telling a daily wage labourer at the RJD head office located on Bir Chand Patel Marg.
At gate number 2 of the office, sundry persons are engaged in conversations ranging from the SUVs next to them to the exit polls projecting an advantage to the RJD. Inside, a group of party workers appear upbeat.
“Our party president Jagdanand Singh had come on Sunday for a while. Other senior leaders are either taking rest or camping in their constituencies,” said Narendra Rai, an RJD worker.
Party spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said “if the exit poll predictions come true, the RJD-led alliance will form the government. You can see the (election) results on the faces of NDA leaders, all of them are despondent.”
A stone’s throw away on the same road is the Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party offices. The gates are locked and neither is there any party worker nor any neta (leader). There has hardly been any activity since voting ended on November 7, the gate keepers said.
“Abhi kyon aayenge? Sab apne chhetra mein hain, jeet nischit hai (Why should they come now? All are camping in their constituencies till counting and victory is certain,” said a man exiting the JD(U) office, a clutch of papers in hand. Ramesh Kumar, a tea-seller next to the BJP office, said after the exit polls projected a not-so positive result, no senior leader had visited the office.
While the RJD could be more optimistic, it is not reflected in the ladoo barometer. Sweet shop owners near the party offices had not received any order for ladoos till evening.
“We have not got any advance booking for sweets,” said Manikant Sah of Ladoo House.
“It seems no party is confident of its victory even after the exit polls. In 2015, the BJP and the RJD booked 1,500 kg of ladoos in advance. This time it is nil so far,” said Rajeev Kumar Gupta of Patna Sweets.
While leaders have avoided party offices, sources said their family members had been seeking divine intervention.
Mohan Jha, a priest on Boring Road, said he and 10 others had performed a two-day religious ritual at the residence of an NDA leader.
BJP candidate Nikhil Anand offered prayers at the Baba Biteshwar temple on Sunday. On whom the God will smile upon should be known by Tuesday afternoon.