National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituent Shiv Sena, which has no significant presence in Bihar, on Sunday announced it was jumping in the poll fray in the State on its own, and claimed its “anti-migrant” image was due to “canard” spread by rivals.
Party’s national spokesperson Sanjay Raut told reporters that Sena, which is ruling Maharashtra in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will contest 150 seats in Bihar, where the BJP-led alliance is locked in a stiff contest with the Nitish Kumar-led coalition of the Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress.
‘No antipathy for Biharis’
Denying that his party has antipathy for Bihar people, Mr. Raut said that on the contrary the people of Maharashtra have strong emotional ties with their counterparts here and respect the Biharis for their patriotism, valour and contributions to freedom struggle.
Asked about allegations of atrocities against migrants, including those from Bihar, in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, Mr. Raut dismissed them claiming that there was no example of the Shiv Sena and its workers targeting migrants. He alleged that some politicians in Bihar were spreading “canard” instead of focusing on development of the State.
“Some politicians of Bihar are more interested in happenings in Mumbai and making noise about atrocities on migrants than actually doing something for development of the State,” the Shiv Sena leader told reporters on the sidelines of his party’s state convention here. He said the party has decided to contest the polls in the State on the agenda of Hindutva, poverty alleviation and employment generation.
Selection process almost over
Mr. Raut said the process for selection of Shiv Sena candidates for the polls to 243-member Bihar Assembly, which will be in held in five phases from October 12, was nearly complete and the first list will be out by tomorrow.
Quizzed why the Shiv Sena had not joined the BJP-led alliance, he said that his party wanted to strengthen its support base in Hindi belt and empower the local people.
Stain in ties
The Shiv Sena and the BJP had ended their 25-year-old alliance before the Maharashtra Assembly polls last year over seat-sharing. Though the two reunited after the poll results to form a government, the strain in ties has been visible with the Sena being openly critical of its dominant partner.
The Shiv Sena leader also took pot-shot at BJP’s allies in Bihar saying they have been guilty of ideological bankruptcy.
He said a leader who had resigned from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government post-Gujarat riots in 2002 was part of the NDA, a reference to Lok Janshakti Party supremo Ramvilas Paswan.
