Responding to the constant BJP charge against his government’s ‘Jungle Raj’, Nitish Kumar lashed out at BJP for being without ‘Neta, Niti aur Niyat’ when it came to Bihar.
Nitish Kumar has been trying hard to fight the stigma of being associated with Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has been accused in the fodder scam and whose tenure is commonly referred to by the opposition as ‘Jungle Raj’. In all his public statements, Nitish Kumar has tried to reel out statistics based on National Crime Records Bureau to prove that during his tenure, with and without BJP, crime had been brought down and the charge of ‘Jungle Raj’ during his tenure was baseless.
But in politics, facts rarely matter as it is the rhetoric that gets the maximum sound bytes and, therefore, tends to stick in the voter’s minds. Nitish Kumar has a real problem. He needs Lalu for his votes, but it is his association with him that is also costing him votes. What will be the net-net result will be known only after the poll results get announced. Till then, Nitish Kumar has to carry on the burden of convincing his voters of his ability and intention, Lalu Prasad notwithstanding.
He also took on the BJP for attempting to communalise politics in the run up to the polls. He criticised the BJP for dumping senior party stalwarts like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.
Amit Shah calls Nitish Kumar a mere ‘Mukhauta’
Addressing an election meeting at Bhagalpur yesterday, Amit Shah called Nitish Kumar a mere ‘Mukhauta’ saying he was just a front for the ‘lawless’ RJD on one side and the ‘corrupt’ Congress on the other. He spoke of how 25 years of rule under Lalu-Rabri-Nitish had ruined Bihar but was quick to add that under Nitish-BJP rule the state did well. He warned people that ‘Jungle Raj’ would return to Bihar as Lalu and Sonia would not let Nitish function freely and that Bihar would suffer under the so called Grand Alliance. He criticised Nitish Kumar for betraying the socialist ideology of Ram Manohar Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan by joining hands with the Congress, whom they had opposed all their life.
Ranjan Yadav latest to join BJP
Longtime associate of Lalu Prasad Yadav, 70-year-old Ranjan Yadav joined the BJP yesterday. Ranjan Yadav has been a two time Rajya Sabha member on a RJD ticket and was an MP from Patliputra on a JD(U) ticket in the 15th Lok Sabha. In a belated awakening, he came out all guns blazing against Lalu Prasad Yadav criticising his party policies and also hitting him at a personal level.
He spoke of how Lalu Prasad had betrayed the youth of the country by not fulfilling vacant jobs that could have gone to weaker sections in the post Mandal era. He spoke of the subsequent ‘Jungle Raj’ during the Lalu-Rabri era and how mothers and daughters felt unsafe to step out of the house.
He went personal when he spoke of how Lalu Prasad had come from a poor family and how his mother couldn’t even recognize a Rs. 100 note. He continued his rant against Lalu Prasad Yadav but did not clarify why he had accepted RJD’s nomination to Rajya Sabha for two terms. But that’s how politics goes.
EC office takes note of all poll violations
The EC office has been vigilant against any violations of the Model Code of Conduct and has been pro-active in taking action.
- As per Press Release yesterday, the EC office confirmed FIR had been registered on 6 October 2015 against Lalu Prasad Yadav for calling Amit Shah ‘Narbhakshi’.
- Another FIR was filed on 5 October 2015 against BJP President Amit Shah for calling Lalu Prasad Yadav ‘Chara Chor’.
- On 4 October, an FIR was filed against Akbaruddin Owaisi for calling Narendra Modi ‘Shaitan, Darinda’.
- In raids carried out in various parts of Bihar, the Police seized Rs. 1 lakh from West Champaran district, Rs. 2.51 lakh from Sheohar district, Rs. 1 lakh from Madhubani, Rs. 2.70 from Gopalganj district, Rs. 5.1 lakh from Siwan district and Rs. 54,000 from Vaishali district.
- Total number of arms seized yesterday was 9, cartridges seized – 31, Licensed arms deposited – 1,487, Arms license cancelled – 455, Persons detained under preventive custody – 8,301, Number of Non-bailable warrants issued – 536 and Total fine collected from vehicle checking– Rs. 11,64,330.
- Winner in 2010 Assembly Poll: Dr Arun Kumar, JD(U)
- Margin of win: 18,842; 14.32% of total valid votes
- Runner-up: Choudhry Mehboob Ali Kaisar, INC
- Male voters: 66,094; Female voters: 65,466; Total: 131,693
- Polling %: 53.79
- Male Candidates who contested: 8; Female Candidates: 2
- Polling stations: 262
