Bihar Elections 2020: Will Covid-19 And Floods Be A Challenge For The NDA Government?

The coronavirus pandemic and floods could pose a challenge to the NDA government in this election. While the state government is confident about its reforms, these issues can affect election results.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Image (AP Photo/Aftab Alam Siddiqui)

Bihar Elections 2020: The Bihar election this time is going to be crucial especially as it is being held amid a pandemic and after the state was ravaged by floods during the monsoon season.The state will go for elections in 3 phases 28th October, 3rd November, and 7th November. The result of the Bihar elections will be announced on 10th November. Monsoon havoc Floods triggered by heavy rainfall had affected several parts of the state during the monsoon seasion. According to a report by Times of India, the worst-hit districts include Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, and Gopalganj. The calamity came at a time when the state is battling rising coronavirus cases and connection to essential medical care is important. Even when the monsoon has started retreating, several areas faced heavy raining causing massive waterlogging. A report by Hindustan Times says that several rivers were flowing above the danger mark. Areas such as Champaran, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Saran districts, and Seemanchal region were severely affected. The report also said that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners (EC) Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar are taking stock of the situation in preparation for the upcoming assembly poll. The preparations. The state government has faced flak for losses suffered by people. But Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has refuted accusations of mismanagement and in his virtual rally said according to a report by The Hindu that "those criticizing are ignorant.' Covid-19 situation On Thursday, India’s Covid-19 tally breached the 63-lakh mark. The country recorded 86,821 new coronavirus cases and 1,181 deaths in 24 hours. At the time of writing the state has a  total of 12502 active cases. So far there have been 904 fatalities in the state due to the infection. According to the state health ministry, the recovery rate stands at 92.72 percent. Testing has been ramped up in the state and so far a total of 73, 86, 521 tests have been conducted in the state. In his virtual rally, Kumar said that the state has taken several steps to control coronavirus such as increasing the Covid-19 testing. But reports by India Today said that hospitals especially those dedicated to Covid -19 such as AIIMS Patna were overburdened and struggling to function. Despite steadily increasing Covid-19 cases, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora has allowed physical campaigning for elections. The district administration has to ensure that these are being done in accordance with the Covid 19 protocol. These issues may be prominent issues for voters this time. Meanwhile, the opposition on Friday finally decided seat-sharing. According to ANI, Lalu Yadav’s RJD will give 70 seats to Congress while left parties will be contesting from 30 seats.