Patna,(BiharTimes): The move of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to make Madhepura his base till the campaigning ends for the April 30 election only reflects the growing discomfort in the ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar.

After all he campaigned for days in his home turf of Nalanda to ensure the victory of his party’s nominee Kaushlendra Kumar, who is fighting with his back to wall.

Interestingly, Nalanda is the one constituency where Nitish seldom gives much time during the election campaign. Even in the 1995 Assembly election he announced that he would not campaign here. Though his party Samata Party was wiped out it won all the seven seats in the Nalanda parliamentary seat. The party could not win a single seat anywhere in the then united Bihar, which used to have 324 seats.

But this time Nitish not only spent so many days in Nalanda but has virtually decided to camp in Madhepura for about 10 days. He is moving around in other east and north Bihar constituencies from Madhepura to ensure the victory of his party chief, Sharad Yadav, who is locked in a grim battle with RJD strongman, Pappu Yadav and Vijay Mandal of the BJP. The latter is the husband of Renu Kushwaha, till March 10 a minister in his cabinet.

Nitish’s decision to give so much time in these two constituencies is a pointer to the fact that he had assessed the mood of the voters, which is not in his favour. They are either with the BJP or RJD-Congress alliance.

Today nobody is listening to the special category status to Bihar, the 15 years of Jungle Raj and the claim of giving bi-cycles and uniforms to school-girls and empowering women.

His Janata Dal (United) has been squeezed in the electoral battle between the BJP and RJD-Congress combine. So polarized is the atmosphere that Nitish is finding itself extremely difficult to draw his own strategy.