JP national president JP Nadda on Saturday accused the Lalu Prasad-led government of turning Bihar into “doobta Bihar” (sinking Bihar), claiming the state suffered from “jungle raj” during the 1990s.

Speaking at a Bihar Diwas event organised by Delhi BJP’s Purvanchal Morcha under the ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative, Nadda credited Bihar’s progress to chief minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nadda said Bihar came out of darkness under Nitish Kumar’s rule and witnessed progress under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Lauding the state, the BJP president said Bihar has a special aura and dynamism — It gave democracy to the world, and Nalanda and Vikramshila were great places of learning.

Even in modern times, students from Bihar studied in large numbers at Delhi University colleges and many professors from the state were known globally for their academic prowess, he said.

“Around 1970s, Bihar was a progressing state. It turned into ‘doobta’ (declining) Bihar under Lalu raj. It was difficult to venture out in the evenings in Patna in those times,” he said, referring to Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) rule under Lalu Prasad’s chief ministership during 1990s.

He said doctors were forced to escape from the state and new vehicles were taken out forcefully from showrooms for wedding parties. He reminisced about the times in Patna when the city would shut down after 5 pm and recalled Phanindra Nath Renu returning his award during the JP movement.

Taking a dig at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Nadda said some people say there was no ‘jungle raj’ in Bihar because they “were not born that time.”

Nadda lauded Delhi BJP and its Purvanchal Morcha workers for bringing the party’s government in the capital when it was slipping into “destruction” and called them to join campaigning in Bihar as well.The Bihar assembly polls are due later this year.

Listing Bihar’s progress under the National Democratic Alliance and Modi government, Nadda said Bihar had just

384 kilometres of rural roads in 2005, which has now expanded to over 1.12

lakh kilometres.

He cited the setting up of Indian Institute of Technology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in the state and announced that Patna Medical College is going to be the biggest hospital in Asia. He thanked all Bihar residents in Delhi for their significant contribution to forming the government in Delhi and stated that now it’s Bihar’s turn.

He pointed out that in Delhi colleges, a substantial number of students hail from Bihar, with 30 per cent in Hindu College, 40 per cent in Kirori Mal College, 50 per cent in Hansraj College, 40-50 per cent in Ramjas College, and even 10-15 per cent in St. Stephen’s College.

The program was coordinated by Purvanchal Morcha President Santosh Ojha, who stated that today, the people of Purvanchal are fully contributing to the economic, social, and spiritual upliftment of Delhi and the nation.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva praised the people of Bihar and Purvanchal for their contribution to Delhi’s progress and stated that today, Purvanchal residents have secured a strong position in Delhi’s social horizon. He emphasised that it is unimaginable to think of Delhi’s economic progress without the people from Purvanchal.

Last week, Bihar’s foundation day celebrations was organised by the party in more than two dozen states in an effort to woo the “pravasi Biharis” ahead of the crucial state polls. As per estimates, more than 80-lakh Biharis are living and working in other states across the country. The pravasi Bihari voters played an important role in the BJP’s outstanding performance in the recently held Delhi Assembly polls, where the party returned to power after 27 years. The BJP is reaching out to the pravasi Biharis to bolster its performance in the upcoming Bihar polls scheduled for October-November later this year.

After a resounding victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP is turning its focus towards Bihar, where assembly elections are scheduled for later this year, likely in October or November.

The Delhi victory has given the NDA a significant boost, with political discussions already gaining pace in Bihar. The NDA has set an ambitious goal of winning 225 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.