The Centre dismissed the Nitish Kumar government’s persistent pitch for special status Thursday on the ground that it is no longer relevant.
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The BJP leader alsowent on to accuse Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav of lowering the standard of debate during the Bihar polls andsaid that the Mahagathbandhan was scared of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that BJP is trying to create an atmosphere of political hype as they are experts in boasting.
Other prominent politicians who face the electoral test in this round includes BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav (Patna Sahib), ministers Shyam Rajak (Phulwari) and Shrawan Kumar (Nalanda), Deputy Speaker Amarendra Pratap Singh (Ara) and BJP’s chief whip in the state Assembly Arun Kumar Sinha (Kumhrar).
Prime Minister Modi urged the people of Bihar not to cast their votes in favour of those practicing caste-based politics. “It is an election for the future of Bihar’s development”, he said.
Many Sangh workers and sympathizers under the able guidance of Dattatreya Hosabale (who is widely believed to be the second most important thought leader in RSS after the Sarsanghchalak today) were seen working hard to reach out to Dalit voters using pamphlets celebrating Ambedkar’s leadership across Bihar over the last fortnight which has reportedly eased a few of the “reservation” fears of backwards in the state.
Modi said if Lalu and Nitish were concerned about reservation issues, their parties would not have opposed the 33 per cent quota for women.
Highlighting his commitment towards serving the people of the nation, Prime Minister Modi said that he has not taken even one day off in his service of 16 months. However, the run-up to the election added a new dimension to the concept.
“The alliance of Nitish and Lalu is an alliance of the past”. In their quest to defeat the Modi juggernaut, they have found a surprising ally – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
For Prashant Kishor, former United Nations health official, the ensuing Bihar polls are a win – win situation.
The first phase of voting on October 12 saw polling in 49 assembly seats, followed by 32 constituencies on October 16.
“It is not a question of the third phase or 50 assembly seats, the grand alliance is sweeping in all 243 assembly seats in all the five phases”.
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“Nitish Kumar is one of the most credible politicians and is credited for establishing governance and rule of law in a challenging state like Bihar”, Kishor said in Patna.
