Home Minister Amit Shah has cleared the air by saying that Nitish Kumar will continue to remain as chief minister if NDA wins the Bihar assembly elections.
Addressing election rallies in Darbhanga and Begusarai on Wednesday, Amit Shah said, “Sonia Ji wants to make her son Rahul the Prime Minister and Lalu Ji wants to make his son Tejashwi the chief minister. I want to tell both of them that there is no vacancy for either the post of CM or PM. Vikas Purush Nitish Kumar is sitting in Bihar and PM Modi in Delhi.”
Amit Shah’s clarification comes in the wake of repeated assertions by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav that the NDA has not yet declared Nitish Kumar its CM face and the BJP will not make him the CM if the NDA comes to power.
By asserting that Nitish Kumar will continue to be the CM after elections, Amit Shah has punctured the narrative sought to be promoted by Tejashwi Yadav among voters in Bihar. Tejashwi Yadav had said, Nitish Kumar is a ‘puppet’ (putla), BJP is only using his face to win elections, but will ditch him after the results are out. Tejashwi had picked up a remark by Amit Shah that NDA would elect its CM after the elections. Now that narrative stands nullified.
Tejashwi Yadav is also trying to dissociate himself from the ‘jungle raj’ during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s rule, when kidnappings, murders and atrocities by gangsters were rampant. Amit Shah is listing out all those crimes at his election rallies. Tejashwi Yadav is also trying to keep himself clear from cases relating to fodder scam and land-for-job scam. Amit Shah is explaining both these scams to the voters.

Yogi and Osama

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath addressed three election rallies in Bihar on Wednesday. In Siwan, the stronghold of mafia don Mohammed Shahabuddin, where RJD has fielded his son Osama Shahab as candidate, Yogi said, “RJD has given ticket to a ‘khandani apradhi’ (dynastic criminal). Jaisa Naam Waisa Kaam (As is the name, so will be his deed)”, obliquely referring to Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
At his election rally, BJP supporters came riding bulldozers to convey the message that properties of gangsters will not be spared in Bihar anymore.
Yogi lashed out at RJD and Congress saying, “they were the ones who stopped Ram Rath in Bihar, they fired on Ram devotees, they even questioned the existence of Lord Ram, but now after the temple has been built in Ayodhya, they are hiding their faces. Sanatanis will never forgive them”.
Yogi also said, both RJD and Congress are corrupt. “One stole fodder by dimming the light of lantern (RJD symbol), and the other is adept in sleight of hand (Congress symbol).”
Yogi Adityanath is much in demand whenever election campaigns take place. He has already addressed six election rallies in Bihar. The point to note is, Yogi is sent to those areas where NDA has a weak base and Mahagathbandhan is strong.
The Raghunathpur seat in Siwan, from where Shahabuddin’s son Osama is contesting, is considered a stronghold of RJD. For decades, Shahabuddin ruled it as his fief. The caste and religious equation favours Mahgathbandhan.
Muslims constitute 23 per cent, Yadavs 10 pc and Dalits 11.5 per cent in Raghunathpur. The MY (Muslim-Yadav) equation favours RJD, which has been winning this seat since 2010. But this time, BJP is trying to make a big dent. Yogi’s campaign in this constituency is, therefore, quite significant.

Can Owaisi wean Muslims away from RJD?

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is nowadays focussing on Seemanchal region, where Tejashwi Yadav expects to get better results this time. Muslims voters will be the deciding factor in most of the seats of Seemanchal.
In order to attract Muslim voters, Tejashwi Yadav has promised to “throw the new Waqf law into the dustbin”, if his grand alliance comes to power.
Owaisi said, “Tejashwi clearly does not know law. He does not know that a state government cannot throw a law enacted by Parliament into the dustbin. Either Tejashwi is ignorant or he is misguiding Muslims”.
Owaisi is a big player in Seemanchal region. He proved it in the last assembly elections. This time, his party has fielded 28 candidates, and in 16 constituencies, his party is giving a fight to RJD and Congress.
At his rallies, Owaisi is telling Muslim voters, “Yadav malai khayega aur Abdul dari bichhayega, yeh ab nahin chalega” (The days are gone, when Yadavs used to corner benefits and Muslims used to spread carpets for leaders).
Get connected on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook