With exit polls predicting victory for the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Grand Alliance, the party Sunday warned its workers against indulging in celebratory firing and "uncivil behaviour" towards rivals on the day of counting of votes on November 10, irrespective of the results.
In a tweet addressed to its workers, the party said, "Whatever the election results are on November 10, it has to be accepted with absolute restraint, simplicity and courtesy.
"Improper fireworks, celebratory firing and uncivil behaviour towards our rivals or their supporters will not be accepted at any cost," it said.
The votes will be counted on November 10, a day after RJDs chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav celebrates his 32nd birthday. The instructions to the party workers to behave decently on the counting day is part of Tejashwi's efforts to do away with "rowdy behaviour" prevalent on such occasions in the past and establish a new culture.
Multiple exit polls released Saturday evening have predicted the Mahagathbandhan to win a majority in the 243- strong Bihar assembly. RJD's Bihar unit president Jagdanand Singh said the members have been told to accept the results of the polls with "all humility."
Praising Tejashwi, Singh said, "While Lalu Prasad is the centre of 'astha' (faith), Tejashwi is the centre of 'wyavastha' (arrangements) of the party. Singh, a close confidante of Lalu Prasad, told the members of the party that Tejashwi laboured hard to win peoples faith in the party and its duty of everybody to maintain it.
RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari said the party's own assessment from their sources on the ground suggests that it will win more seats than predicted in exit polls. "There is a wave in support of Mahagathbandhan and Tejashwi Yadav. We will win with a two-thirds majority," he told PTI.
The RJDs election campaign was centred on Tejashwi Yadav's promise of providing 10 lakh governments jobs to youths in Bihar. Their rival has attacked the party over its record on and law and order, also berating the 15-year rule of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi as "jungle raj".
In a rally during the polls, BJP chief JP Nadda had assailed the RJD over its reputation of preferring muscle power to ideology, saying the party has a history of conducting 'Tel Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan (dipping lathis in oil and wielding them to assert power)' rally.
Naddas reference to Tel Piyawan, Danda Bhanjan was a throwback to an RJD rally in 2003, two years before the party was ousted from power in Bihar. As the name suggests, the party workers and supporters carrying 'lathi' (stick) had participated in that rally at Gandhi Maidan in the state capital.
In its second tweet on Sunday, the RJD asked its workers to keep in mind that irrespective of the results "at the centre of your politics is public upliftment and their convenience".
