PATNA: The fight for the Muslim vote in Bihar may have begun. The ruling Janata Dal (United) has taken a couple of measures intended at reaching out to Muslims.After its breakup with BJP, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ’s party would need undivided support of Muslims to overcome upper caste Hindu votes that it may have lost with the alliance.The Nitish Kumar government hiked the pension for victims of the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots. 384 affected families of the Bhagalpur riots will be given Rs 5,000 pension, up from Rs 2,500 paid to them since 2007. Over 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, are estimated to have died in the Bhagalpur riots which took place in 1989. More than 50,000 people were displaced.The Kumar government also increased the monthly allowance for volunteers teaching in government-aided Muslim religious schools, Talimi Markaz . They were paid Rs 3,500 per month as allowance but will now get Rs 5,000.With Lok Sabha elections barely few months away, JD(U)’s electoral prospect hinge on the voting behaviour of Muslims, majority of who have traditionally voted for Lalu Prasad’s RJD . He remained at the helm of affairs in the state with the active support of Muslims, who distanced from him after RJD’s defeat in the November 2005 assembly elections.“Muslims have been supporting JD(U) and were even willing to back BJP because of Nitish. Now after the JD(U) broke free from BJP in mid-June, they will only be rooting for the CM. As for RJD, it just could win 22 seats in 2010 assembly elections, lending credence to assumption that Muslims had turned their back on Laluji,” JD(U) MP RCP Singh told ET.