The Bihar Assembly election 2015 is highly crucial for all the parties but surprisingly no party has an agenda and concrete issue. The issues are provided by the rivals with the irresponsible statements by leaders of various parties.
Among the few favourite election issues include Jungle Raj, Mandal Raj, DNA, pro and anti stands on special package, reservation policy, backward versus forward, breaking of promises etc. Now one more issue provided by RJD supremo lalu Prasad and grabbed by the BJP is beef eating.
At the moment Jungle Raj is the favourite issue for the NDA while the rivals repeat the non-compliance of promises by PM Narendra Modi in their meetings.
Jungle Raj of the 15 years rule of lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi and two years of bad governance of Nitish Kumar is being raised by all the leaders of BJP and its allies to remind the people about the lawlessness, crime and corruption. From PM Modi to BJP chief Amit Shah to all its leaders, in fact, make it a strong issue to continue haunting the public about the dark days when crime and kidnapping was rampant.
The Maha gathbandhan from the very beginning made Modi’s promises made during campaign for the lok Sabha election in May 2014 its attacking lauchpad that included achche din, bringing back the black money stashed in foreign banks and depositing Rs15 lakh in accounts of each Indian, 2 crore jobs every years etc. Its leaders had been asking people if they got the money and the jobs.
When PM Modi questioned the DNA of Nitish at one of his Parivartan rallies over two months back, Nitish as well as lalu and Congress made it an issue. The Mahagathbandhan held a Swabhiman rally on August 30 in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on this very issue which was also attended among others by Sonia Gandhi.
While the grand alliance leaders were concentrating on this issue, along came the controversial statement of RSS head Mohan Bhagwat favouring revision of the reservation policy for OBCs, SCs and ST. Nothing could have been a better issue than this for the Maha gathbandhan to corner the BJP.
The reservation issue was so strong that Nitish, lalu and Congress leaders including Sonia mounted a scathing attack on the BJP and demanded from the PM to clarify their stand on quota. A cornered BJP deputed almost all its senior leaders including Amit Shah to defend the party. Except Modi, all these leaders have claimed that BJP is strong votary of reservation and there would not change in this policy. However, PM Modi who addressed his first election meeting at Banka on Friday last preferred to skip this issue.
Sonia at his first election meetings at Kahalgaon and Wazirganj on Saturdy made an acidic attack by saying, “Modi Government and Nagpur are playing a fixed match over job reservation for SC, ST and OBCs. Congress is fully committed to continue this facility as per constitutional provisions.”
While the BJP was still feeling the heat, lalu provided it an emotional issue by saying that Hindus also eat beef. When he realised his mistake he said beef did not mean only cow meat and then he added that civilized people do not eat meat. But by that time it was too late and BJP grabbed the issue. Union Minister Giriraj Singh immediately announced to start an agitation against lalu and make it an election issue with an aim to mobilise Hindus. JD(U) and Congress were caught unawares and had no comment.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi demanded that Nitsih and Sonia should clarify their stand on lalu’s statement and said BJP is committed for cow protection and ban on cow slaughter. “Nitish opened liquor distilleries in villages and if my mistake he comes back to power he will open slaughter houses in villages,” Modi tweeted.