Patna: Elections have always generated a lot of interests in Bihar but the current polls are going to be very crucial for the state, which sends 40 members to the Lok Sabha.

“Crucial” in the sense that, apart from deciding the fate of the country, the poll outcome will also determine the destiny of three major political players from the state — Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan.

They all were members of the extended Janata Dal (JD) family at some point, but this is the first time in many years that they are going up against one another in an election. The result will prove who really rules the people’s heart.

It is a fact that Paswan and Kumar have not contested elections alone in the past decade-plus, surviving only with the support of allies.

This year’s elections will therefore prove how much clout they wield over the voters.

The last time Kumar fought alone was in 1995, when the Samata Party that he formed after rebelling against Prasad fielded candidates in all 324 assembly seats in undivided Bihar. However, the party tally did not even cross the double digit mark.

Being the fast learner that he is, Kumar soon corrected his mistake and entered an alliance with the BJP for the 1996 Lok Sabha polls.

Since then, Kumar has never contested any election alone in the state.

Kumar’s JD-U made spectacular performances in the last two elections — winning 20 seats out of 40 in 2009 Lok Sabha polls and 115 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly, but it fought both the elections in an alliance with the BJP.

Now, with Kumar going it alone after breaking his 17 year-old association with the BJP over the issue of Narendra Modi, he faces the biggest challenge to prove his hold over the masses.

Paswan is no different. In the past 15 years since he broke away from the JD family, he has contested every election either as a part of the National Democratic Alliance or the United Progressive Alliance.

This time as well, he switched sides on the poll eve and joined hands with the BJP, after dumping the UPA, in what was described as the biggest surprise of this poll season.

He had quit the NDA over the 2002 Gujarat riots but now claims “communalism” is not an issue anymore.

He too faces the challenge to prove his relevance. In the past LS polls, his party had failed to open to open an account despite fielding its candidates on 12 seats. Paswan himself had lost very badly — first time in 33 years.

The RJD chief remains where he was before and there is no change in his poll agenda.

Prasad who stitched up a formidable Muslim-Yadav (MY) equation soon after coming to power in 1990 still remains a strong votary of “secularism” and “social justice”, and has never vacillated from his stand in the past 24 years. That is the reason he still enjoys his base in certain sections of voters and is seriously heard despite being out of power and convicted in the fodder scam.

The main contest this time though is between UPA and NDA although the JD-U is trying hard to turn it into a triangular fight.

After initial hiccups, which conveyed a wrong message among the voters, the UPA partners now are trying to present a show of solidarity to garner maximum support of voters.

As far as the BJP is concerned, it’s purely a “Narendra Modi show” in Bihar, which is in sharp contrast to previous two elections when Modi was literally “banned” from campaigning for NDA candidates in the state.

The party hopes to bank on the “Modi wave” and anti-incumbency factors against both the UPA and Nitish Kumar government. Its main rivals, Kumar and Prasad have no significant issues other than Modi bashing. Well, it’s a fight to the finish in Bihar.