"Today is the last day of electioneering. Polling for the last phase will be held the day after tomorrow. And, this is my last election," an emotional CM said, concluding his speech at Dhamdaha constituency in Purnia district of Bihar, on the last day of the high-voltage campaign for Bihar's final "stage" as 78 constituencies going to polls in the third and final phase on Saturday.
Incidentally, the CM's declaration came on the same day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again strongly emphasised the "choice" of the Janata Dal(U) leader as NDA's chief ministerial candidate saying that he needed a government headed by Mr Nitish Kumar in Bihar to carry forward the pace of development witnessed in recent years.
According to political pandits, "The personal pitch, almost as if the PM were underwriting the JD(U) leader's credentials, seemed intended to present his appeal to voters as synonyms with the ally and also erasing any perception of BJP having a covert interest in the chief minister's diminution or playing a Mahagathbandhan card."