Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leaderSushil Modi , a key campaigner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the State, says the alliance is fighting the election based on the performance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Ahead of the final phase of voting in Bihar, he exudes confidence that the BJP’s alliance with the Janata Dal(U) has the winning numbers.
How do you see the prospects of the NDA in Bihar?
Bihar will be a walkover for the NDA. In 2009 and 2014, the gap between the NDA and the RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) alliance was around 10%. In 2009, the NDA won 32 Lok Sabha seats (of total 40) and in 2014, NDA without JD(U) won 31 seats. JD(U) got 16% votes in 2014. With [Chief Minister] Nitish Kumar returning to the NDA, we will be ahead of the RJD alliance by at least 15 percentage points.
But the BJP has lost leaders such as Shatrughan Sinha, who is now a Congress candidate.
He will lose his deposit in the Patna Sahib constituency (which goes to the polls on Sunday).
The BJP leads in each Assembly segment in this constituency by huge margins. Mr. Sinha has no base of his own and won entirely because of the party machinery in 2014. I can tell you, he won’t have agents at the booth.
In Bihar, are you fighting on national issues or State issues?
Both. The NDA government in Bihar has given good governance, and the Modi government has given good governance for the entire country. The Modi government has given around ₹50,000 crore for roads in Bihar. There is electricity in every house in the State, for most part of the day. So we are seeking votes on the performance of the State and Centre. RJD has nothing to say. They rake up false issues, and allege that we will end reservation.
Reservation was an issue in Bihar in the 2015 Assembly election…
Mohan Bhagwat ji (RSS chief) made a statement (calling for a debate on reservation) that Mr. Lalu Prasad went to town with. That time, Mr. Nitish Kumar was also with him.
This time, that trick won’t work. The Prime Minister himself has repeatedly clarified that no force on earth can stop reservation. Moreover, the NDA government has shown consistent commitment to reservation, and certainly more than the RJD. The RJD had not given reservation for even Dalits in Panchayati Raj bodies. We introduced that and much more.
Mr. Nitish Kumar has changed camps several times in recent years and now he is with you. Does it not affect the credibility of the alliance?
He was in an alliance with the RJD in 2015 and the verdict was for good governance. But the RJD wanted to serve only one family. Mr. Kumar is now back with the BJP. If anyone had to be angry, it would only be the BJP workers. They are not angry, and Mr. Kumar’s supporters are happy. Why is the RJD sweating over it?
The prohibition enforced in Bihar has turned out to be failure according to many reports. Will this adversely affect you in the election?
Many stories are made about prohibition. The fact is that poor families are happy that their earnings are not going into liquor. For those who insist on drinking might find a way, and that is true for not only alcohol but also other banned substances. But nobody dares to come in public drunk, and legal action is being taken against those who violate the law of the land.
