'Nitish Kumar stands no chance in front of Vikas Purush Narendra Modi.'
Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com reports from Patna.
The evening before the ballot boxes reveal the victors and the vanquished, Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are upbeat about their poll prospects even as they discredit the figures provided by the other party.
Bir Chand Patel Road in Patna is where the offices of the major political parties in the fray -- the JD-U, the BJP and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal -- are located.
While the RJD office has a desolate look for the simple reason that most political activities of Lalu Yadav's party are centred around his Patna home, the mood at the JD-U and BJP offices was hesitant.
There are a smattering of supporters at the spartan JD-U office discussing the poll results on November 8. The BJP office, lavish and expansive in contrast to the JD-U's premises, is filled by eager beaver supporters, a raft of VIP cars and security personnel.
At the JD-U office, Chhotu Singh, a former chief of the Citizen Council of Bihar, a rank equivalent to a minister of state, says he is confident that the JD-U and RJD alliance will easily cross 135 seats.
"135 is my lucky number," says Singh, "and I have a strong intuition that tomorrow we will easily reach that number. It will definitely not be less than 135; it can be more though."
Singh has ordered 135 kilograms of motichoor laddoos to be distributed among supporters on Sunday. "We will burst more than 35,000 firecrackers to celebrate our victory," he adds.
The BJP, he says, will not cross even 60 seats in Bihar.
At the BJP office, which is located barely 250 metres away from the JD-U office, "BJP will get 130; Ram Vilas Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha will together will get 30," a man dressed in the BJP's flag and sporting a Narendra Modi mark shouts at the entrance.
Dr Azfar Shamshi, the BJP's state spokesperson, is bullish about his party's prospects. "We will easily get 150 seats," he says.
"Nitish Kumar stands no chance in front of Vikas Purush Narendra Modi," says Dr Shamshi. "Tomorrow, you will be here, Nitish Babu will be here and I will be here. Meet me after the results."
