By Ananya Sharma 
Patna, October 18: The mood in Bihar is shifting fast. With just a few weeks left before the state votes, everything from campaign speeches to late-night strategy meetings is starting to feel urgent. The Election Commission is cracking down, alliances are fraying, and smaller parties are suddenly dreaming big. There’s noise in every direction, but also a quiet undercurrent of unease: people want jobs, stability, and someone to finally deliver.
EC Turns Up The Heat On Cash, Liquor, And Drug Networks
At the Election Commission headquarters in Delhi, top officials spent hours this week mapping out Bihar’s most vulnerable zones. Their message was clear no more free runs for those trying to buy votes. Enforcement agencies like the ED, CBDT, NCB, and RBI have been told to tighten coordination, especially along the Nepal border, where smuggling networks tend to thrive during election season.
A senior officer involved in the meeting told The Times of India that the Commission wants “real-time intelligence, not post-facto excuses.” The focus this time is on cash, liquor, and drugs, the unholy trio that has tainted Bihar’s elections for decades.
For voters, though, this crackdown feels both reassuring and familiar. They’ve seen these promises before. Whether the machinery actually manages to plug leaks on the ground, particularly in districts like Sitamarhi, East Champaran, and Madhubani, will be a key test of the EC’s willpower.
SBSP Walks Alone After Talks Collapse
In another corner of the political chessboard, Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has decided to go it alone. Talks with Tej Pratap Yadav’s Janshakti Janata Dal broke down earlier this week, and by Thursday afternoon, Rajbhar announced his plan to contest “at least 150 seats” independently.
He didn’t mince words. “We can’t survive as someone’s junior partner forever,” he reportedly told party workers in Lucknow.
The SBSP, still technically a BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh, has been restless in Bihar. Rajbhar’s frustration with the BJP’s local leadership isn’t new, but this time he’s framing it as a matter of respect. His candidates 48 announced so far, will be targeting OBC and backward caste strongholds where neither the NDA nor the INDIA bloc has deep roots.
Whether this gambit pays off or just divides the anti-NDA vote is hard to predict. But Rajbhar has managed to get one thing right people are finally talking about him.
AAP’s Quiet Foray Into Bihar
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been quietly planting flags across the state. It released its third list of 28 candidates, including Shashi Bhushan Tiwari from Lauriya in West Champaran.
On paper, it looks modest. But for a party that thrives on visibility, even a handful of urban candidates could make a statement. AAP’s Bihar unit says its focus is “governance, education, and clean politics,” though its real challenge will be surviving in constituencies dominated by regional heavyweights.
AAP leaders admit privately that they’re not chasing power this time; they’re chasing recognition. “We want to start the conversation,” one volunteer said in Patna, “and you can’t start it if you’re not on the ballot.”
Chirag Paswan, Amit Shah, And The NDA’s Show Of Confidence
In Delhi, Chirag Paswan met Amit Shah, flashing smiles for the cameras and promising that the NDA would win “every single seat” it contests. Paswan’s enthusiasm isn’t new he’s been branding himself as the alliance’s youth face, but the meeting also served a larger purpose: a show of unity in a coalition that has often looked fragile.
According to Navbharat Times, Shah assured Paswan that the NDA was “completely united,” even as murmurs persist about Nitish Kumar’s uneasy partnership with the BJP. On the ground, however, NDA cadres are quietly juggling mixed loyalties Paswan’s LJP faction, Nitish’s JDU, and the BJP itself all have overlapping interests in several seats.
Still, the alliance’s core message remains one of continuity. At a rally in Patna, Shah told voters that the NDA would “turn Bihar into an industrial hub,” banking on job creation and infrastructure as its main selling points. Whether that promise cuts through the skepticism is another story.
INDIA Bloc’s Cracks Begin To Show
If the NDA’s challenge is coordination, the opposition INDIA alliance has an even messier problem infighting. According to Deccan Herald, allies like RJD and Congress are still struggling to finalise seat-sharing, with “friendly fights” erupting in multiple constituencies.
Over 1,250 nominations have already been filed for the first phase, and in seats like Vaishali and Kahalgaon, both RJD and Congress have fielded their own candidates. It’s a logistical headache and a political embarrassment.
NDTV reported that at least five constituencies remain flashpoints for negotiation. A senior Congress leader, speaking off record, described the situation bluntly: “We are fighting each other more than we’re fighting the BJP.”
What Voters Are Actually Talking About
Beyond the party slogans, the real conversations in Bihar aren’t about alliances, they’re about unemployment. According to Reuters, joblessness among people aged 15 to 29 is around 9.9%, and the frustration is palpable. Every tea stall conversation circles back to the same question: what’s next for Bihar’s youth?
The EC has also come under fire for alleged errors in the voter rolls, elderly voters left out, names misspelled,and polling booths changed without notice. In a state where trust in institutions is fragile, such lapses sting.
Migration continues to shape Bihar’s politics too. With so many men working outside the state, women voters have quietly become one of the most decisive blocs. They’ve benefited from welfare schemes in the past, and every party now has a separate pitch for them, ranging from job reservations to direct cash transfers.
What Comes Next
Bihar votes in two phases November 6 and 11and the results will be out on November 14. Between now and then, expect the noise to grow louder, the rallies bigger, and the promises bolder.
The NDA is selling stability. The INDIA bloc is selling change. And in between them, smaller parties like SBSP and AAP are trying to carve a space in the cracks of Bihar’s old political order.
But beneath the slogans lies a quieter truth: Bihar’s people have learned to listen carefully. They’ve been promised a transformation before. This time, they want to see it.
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- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
