While election commission has made it clear that it will not halt the ballots on account of the pandemic, the parties are now forced to pursue ways to reach out to the public through virtual crusade and digital strategies.

BJP’s art and culture wing in Bihar has launched a campaign “Justice for Sushant Singh Rajput” with photos, pamphlets and posters saying “Na bhoolenge! Na bhoolne denge!!”

As per a report in The Print, over 30,000 posters and stickers, and 30,000 masks bearing the photo of Sushant and the message have been printed so far. The party is also busily issuing car stickers with the actor’s photo and the same message as in the poster.

However, the opposition has criticised the saffron party for politicising the issue and condemned BJP of giving the actor’s unfortunate death a “political colour” for electoral mileage.

Scenting the predicament of the opposition, Nitish and the BJP have gone ahead full steam pursuing the election commission’s decision to go ahead with organizing the assembly polls before November 29.

As Bihar is seen as the first test case in holding polls in the time of the pandemic, the election commission has permitted public meetings and roadshows. But it has emphasized that these meetings are subject to social distancing and other health safety standards.

Voters will enter a booth and be enabled to cast their ballot only if they are wearing masks. They will be asked to lower their masks for identification when needed. Sanitisers will be kept at the entry-points as well as inside booths. Gloves will be provided for signing on the voter register and pressing the button of electronic voting machine for voting.

If a voter is found to be having a fever, he/she will be checked a second time, and if the temperature is still found high, the person will be given a token number and asked to come back during the last hours of polling to cast their vote. Furthermore, the voters suffering from COVID-19 will be allowed to cast their votes in the last hour of polling while observing preventive regulations.

It is possible that the election may enable Bihar to show other states the way forward in the time of the coronavirus pandemic. The message and the poster displaying SSR used by BJP in campaigning for Bihar polls shows the tactics used by the party at the helm at centre to make it’s candidates win assembly seats. Justice for SSR is just a tagline in this crusade whose desired end-result is having a new Bihar CM from BJP, more importantly having Patna under BJP control