The poll campaign in Bihar has picked heat as all the top leaders of various parties jumped into the battle field with their ammunition. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD supremo lalu Prasad, BJP leader Sushil Modi and others are now hopping from one constituency to another stumping for the candidates of their alliance.
Both Nitish, who began his campaign on Saturday, and lalu are targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the BJP and its allies are firing their salvos against Nitish.
In Bhagalpur on Sunday, Nitish invoked the Bihari pride and asked people, “You have to decide who will work for the development of Bihar, a Bihari or a ‘Bahri’ (outsider).” He said a ‘Bahri’ (read Narendra Modi) would forget Bihar after polls similarly as he forgot all the poll promises he made during the 2014 lok Sabha polls. “The people will not come in his ‘jhansa’ (forgery) any longer. He got the votes to rule Delhi but fulfilled none of his promises and his party leaders are saying those were poll jumlas,” he said.
Both Nitish and lalu in their speeches are highlighting RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s views on reviewing the reservation policy and cautioning the SC, ST and backwards against the BJP. lalu is also stressing on the return of Mandal Raj II by mobilising the backwards, Dalits and minorities.
In Samastipur, Nitish while addressing a meeting in a SC-reserved seat referred to the views of RSS and said if the BJP comes to power in Bihar, the party would not hesitate in implementing the RSS agenda of scrapping the reservation for the SCs and STs. “A more powerful BJP will change the Constitution and debar the SCs and STs from their reservation rights. The BJP might be trying to distance itself from RSS agenda due to elections in Bihar but the saffron party has no courage to go against the wishes of the RSS,” he cautioned the people.
lalu, who started his campaign from Raghopur from where his younger son Tejaswi Yadav is contesting, asked his audience, “The poor, backwards and Dalits rise and see the designs of the RSS and the BJP. Your unity will bring back the Mandal Raj-II and drive out the BJP and its allies.” He also said if the BJP has courage let it try to scrap quota policy.
lalu thundered, “It was me who had stopped the rath of lK Advani. Now I will stop the rath of Narendra Modi in Bihar.” He said he would fight against the communal forces till his last breath.” This election will decide the fate of the country, he said and called upon the people to defeat the communal forces with all their might.
BJP leader Sushil Modi, who is star campaigner for his party as well as NDA, at a meeting told people that Nitish and lalu have joined hands only to grab the power and not for the progress of Bihar. He said under the leadership of Narendra Modi, NDA would come to power and take Bihar to new heights of development.
lalu took a dig at the BJP for not projecting any leader and contesting polls under NaMo. In a tweet, lalu said, “Modi has gone to the USA to look for an NRI for the CM post because his party has no capable person in Bihar.”