Durga Puja, Dussehra halt Bihar campaign

Thanks to the final day of Durga Puja and Dussehra, most star campaigners in the Bihar election will take rest on Thursday.

It will probably the first major break after a nearly month of non-stop election rallies for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP president Amit Shah and RJD leader Lalu Prasad among others.

It will also be a break time for thousands of party leaders and activists of the BJP-led four-party alliance as well as the Grand Alliance led by Nitish Kumar.

Nitish Kumar will address only three rallies on Wednesday, in comparison to the five or six he has been presiding over daily.

On Thursday, he will rest although he will meet supporters at his residence here, an official close to him said.

Nitish Kumar is the chief ministerial candidate of the Grand Alliance that also includes the JD-U and the Congress.

After addressing meetings on Wednesday, Shah will fly back to New Delhi. He will return to Bihar on Friday.

Lalu Prasad will address half a dozen rallies on Wednesday but, like others, take a break on Thursday.

"He will not campaign tomorrow (Thursday). He will spend time with his family," RJD leader Chandeshwar Prasad told IANS.

"Please, no politics. It is Durga Puja on Thursday," Lalu Prasad had earlier told journalists.

Sushil Modi, a former deputy chief minister and the main contender for the chief minister's post if the BJP-led alliance wins the election, will also take a rest on Thursday.

Ditto for the BJP allies -- LJP chief and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and former chief minister and HAM president Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary has not been campaigning since Tuesday.

Nitish Kumar, leader of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), has time and again said that he is neither religious nor an atheist but likes to help celebrate festivals.