PATNA, Oct. 1 -- Ahead of election announcement, most probably by October 7, Bihar is witnessing corruption emerging as a major political weapon for political parties to browbeat their adversaries and win over the voters, with charges flying thick and fast from everywhere. From 'vote chori' campaign of the Congress, 'maha jungal raaj' sloganeering of the RJD, NDA's efforts to remind people of the 'horror tales of the pre-2005 period' and Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor's targeted attacks in a bid to emerge as a new alternative, corruption is certainly creating the buzz. However, experts feel that despite being a reality which the masses do identify with due to their daily plight, it remains uncertain how much it will be able to override the polarised politics that the state has witnessed over the years to suit the established political parties. "On the eve of election, corruption charges flying is not a new phenomenon. It has happened in the national elections as well as the state elections in the past. It is happening again in Bihar, with rebuttals, defamation threats and counter charges also flying, as political leaders are aware not much time is left for election and corruption charges on individual leaders don't stick despite the buzz in the era of identity politics revolving around big faces," said social analyst NK Choudhary. Kishor has been hitherto guarded in his direct attack on Nitish Kumar, the NDA face, but for the first time he did accuse the latter of compromising with crime, corruption and communalism due to presence of 'tainted' leaders in his Cabinet. However, Choudhary said Kishor's brand of politics, quite similar to Arvind Kejriwal's finger-pointing method, would not fetch him much dividends, though he might get some votes from people fed up with both RJD and JD(U)-BJP. "I don't see him having the wherewithal to make a big impact in this election despite all the noise, as corruption has affected all parties in equal measure. People don't trust anyone to bring about change, yet go through motion to vote hoping against hope. As Nitish has delivered on some perceptible parameters and personally he is seen as clean, that advantage will remain with him despite the natural anti-incumbency factor. I see Kishor as an influencer who could make or mar the prospects of some candidates," Choudhary added. Former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies DM Diwakar, however, said corruption was a big factor, as it affected the common masses, but so was the caste and creed factor strongly ingrained to dilute its impact much to the liking of mainstream parties. "Targeting individual leaders hardly affects the ultimate outcome, as those leaders don't have individual clout. Besides, there is no one voice on corruption, as all the parties seem to be raising it in the way that suits their narrative. All this makes it tough to see corruption emerging as a core issue to change the outcome, though it should be the issue. Tainted leaders can be found in all parties, as winnability ultimately matters, not how it comes," he added. With no seat sharing formula announced as yet by any formation and nothing on the candidates, he said the entire election seemed to be heading for personality clash - with Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and new entrant Prashant Kishor holding the forte....