Bihar polls: Lalu Prasad dares BJP to declare CM candidate

PATNA: RJD chief Lalu Prasad today dared the BJP to declare its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections scheduled in September- October this year, or accept that it was ‘nirvansh’ (childless).

“I am demanding from the BJP to either show the face of its Chief Ministerial candidate or accept that there is nobody in its dynasty and it is ‘nirvansh’ (childless),” Prasad said.

Attacking the saffron party, Prasad said he was now sure that the BJP would not declare any chief ministerial candidate for the state polls to serve its “selfish interests” and indulge in divisive caste politics in the state.

“Just like the last Lok Sabha polls, the BJP will rely on its divisive gimmick. It will go among the Yadavs and tell them that Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav will be the Chief Minister. It will go to Patna City and tell the people there that their MLA Nand Kishore Yadav, who is opposed to Sushil Kumar Modi, will become the CM,” Yadav said.

Yadav claimed that in the same manner the BJP will go among the Bhumihars and tell them that C P Thakur will be their CM. Likewise, it will go to the Rajputs and tell that Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh will become the CM, and will tell the Brahmins that somebody from their caste will be the Chief Minister.

“There is ‘khot’ (bad intention) in the mind of BJP. It should clear its stand before the polls without trying to cheat people, or accept that it is a childless party,” he said.

The RJD chief was speaking to media persons after holding a meeting of MLAs, MLCs, leaders, party officials and workers of Patna division to chalk out a strategy for upcoming state polls. The division consists of six districts – Patna, Nalanda, Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas and Kaimur.

In view of the approaching state polls, he has embarked on an exercise to meet party workers and leaders from all nine divisions in the state consisting of 38 districts.

Prasad hit out at the BJP for continuously calling the 15-year-long RJD rule in the state as ‘jungleraj’ and warned the saffron party that by doing so it was portraying a community as “criminals”.

“I am warning the BJP leaders to speak with restraint. By calling RJD rule as ‘jungle raj’, they are portraying a community as criminals,” he added.

He also warned BJP government at the Centre for continuously neglecting Bihar’s interest and said his party will not tolerate the injustice meted out to the state.

Pooh-poohing the Ayodhya Ram temple issue, Prasad pointed out that the BJP was remembering it again after realising that it was losing ground across the country.

The RJD president rebutted any indications of cracks in the ‘secular alliance’ consisting of his party, JD(U), Congress and NCP and added, “We all are one after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav announced the alliance. The BJP is trying to play games by spreading talks of differences among us.”

Reacting to questions about the number of seats RJD will contest in the assembly elections, Prasad said it has not been yet decided, and it will be declared later after all alliance parties sit and deliberate over the issue.

“I have asked all our party workers to stay united and loyal towards the alliance. We all – Congress, NCP, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and I – are together in it. This is our government and it will be renewed in the coming elections,” Prasad asserted.