Patna,(BiharTimes): The verbal duel among political parties of Bihar has shifted to Delhi as senior leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Janata Dal (United) from the state have started campaigning for their respective parties.

On Saturday Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar addressed election meetings in Okhla, Sangam Vihar and Dwarka. His party Janata Dal (United) has put up candidates in 26 out of 70 Assembly constituencies. His cabinet colleague Renu Kushwaha, Shyam Rajak, Nitish Mishra, Parveen Amanullah are already camping in Delhi.

Though the Congress, which is in power, and BJP, have much at stake the JD(U) has thrown its hat in the ring just to test the political waters of Delhi, where there is a sizeable voters of Bihari origin. The party has given ticket to about a dozen candidates of Bihari origin while the BJP has fielded five such nominees. The former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is already busy campaigning for his party in Delhi.

But reports from Delhi said that the political situation there is totally different with BJP fighting a very tough battle with the Congress as well as Aam Admi Party. As JD(U) hardly matters there the BJP is not extending the battle of Bihar to the national capital. In fact the BJP does not want to antagonize JD(U) there as the Aam Admi Party is already cutting its votebank.

AAP is giving sleepless night to the ruling Congress party as well, even as the latter is trying its level best to make it four in a row. But in a desperate bid to woo voters the   BJP has also promised setting up of a migrant commission, hostels for students from Bihar etc.

According to Sushil Modi senior Bihar leaders from the state, along with more than 40 MLAs, have been camping in Delhi for about ten days now.

State BJP chief Mangal Pandey said about 1,000 party workers and seven to eight former ministers have been camping in New Delhi for the last ten days.

On the other hand Congress leaders from Bihar are also camping in Delhi to muster support for chief minister Sheila Dikshit with the message that Bihar got maximum funding during the Congress-led UPA rule since 2004.

Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee Ashok Choudhary said during the UPA-1 and UPA-II regimes, Bihar got central funding of Rs1,34,000 crore, against only Rs 7,400 crore during the Vajpayee regime between 1998 and 2004.

An interesting by-product of the Delhi election is that the people in Bihar are now not forced to listen to the daily dose of abuse and counter-abuse between BJP and JD(U) leaders.