BJP’s Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha on Monday arrived here to extend greetings to Nitish Kumar and lalu Prasad for their landslide victory in the Assembly polls. He reached 7, Circular Road and had an half an hour meeting with the CM. Sinha heaped praise on Nitish and said the Mahagathbandhan victory was the victory of democracy, Bihar and Biharis.
Sinha, known as Bihari Babu, said, “The people of Bihar voted overwhelmingly at the appeal of Nitish that only a Bihari can take Bihar on the path of development. Nitish played a major role in the governance, development and law and order situation in the State and he was the most popular CM face in this election. For me Nitish is the most favourite, respected and able Chief Minister after Jyoti Basu.”
To a query the BJP MP, once the star campaigner in elections but kept aside in the recently concluded elections, commented, “I am a BJP member and will continue in this party till the last. I joined this party when its total strength in Parliament was only two. But if anybody wants to take action against me I cannot stop him.”
Sinha also favoured the stand of Ara BJP MP and former top bureaucrat R K Singh that the party’s defeat should be introspected and accountability must be fixed so that the party could take this defeat as a challenge and convert it into an opportunity.
At 10, Circular Road, the official residence of lalu, the BJP leader hugged the RJD boss and greeted him. He said his meeting and greeting Nitish and lalu should not be seen from political angle as he was meeting them out of courtesy. He also added that he has family friendship with the two leaders “Our PM Narendra Modi and many senior leaders had also phoned the duo to extend their congratulations,” he said.
Talking to a TV channel in Delhi on Monday, Sinha said there could have been some difference in BJP’s performance had he been projected as its CM face.
“I am not bragging, but I do feel that when the ‘laadla’ (darling) of Bihari people, the ‘dhartiputra’ (son of the soil) and the original Bihari Babu was deliberately sidelined, it definitely had an impact on my supporters and fans,” Sinha told the news channel.