Bihar leaders making a trip to Bengaluru to woo migrant workers

BENGALURU: As the dates for Bihar elections are out, parties from that state are getting ready to draw more voters from Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, where thousands of Biharis have settled down. Leaders like Manoj Bharathi from Jan Suraaj Party, founded by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, and Manoj Tiwari, BJP MP, were camping at Hebbal, Vidyaranyapura and surrounding areas, where a large number of Biharis stay and appealed to them to cast their vote. Ram Keval Singh, a representative of Siddharth Sanskriti Samiti -- a Bihar-based association in Karnataka, said that unlike last time, around 15 lakh Biharis staying in Karnataka want a change in Bihars political landscape as there has been no development in that state. Singh said most of the Biharis are in Bengaluru compared to other parts of the state, and they have been advised to vote for Bihars future. He said Bihar will again favour a regional party, but who will be voted to power is a mystery. Though liquor is banned in the state, it is found in homes, which is a worrying trend, he added. Another representative from the Samiti said that many youth come to Bengaluru from Bihar and work in the construction industry on daily wages. Had successive governments in Bihar had worked for progress and development, these youth would not have migrated. More leaders are expected to come to Karnataka ahead of two-phase Bihar elections on November 6 and 11.