Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met leaders of his party yesterday to discuss whether to overhaul policies and priorities in the wake of a humiliating defeat in elections in the eastern state of Bihar.
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The two leaders spoke of plans for forging a strong National alternative as an “effective Opposition” to the BJP. We will first go to Varanasi (PM Modi’s constituency).
A three-party alliance won an absolute majority, bagging 178 seats in a 243-seat legislature in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, leaving the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance with only 58 seats. “Elections should be fought on Bihar issues and since they are so many issues of Bihar, it will not reach the level of national issues”, Shah said in reply to a volley of questions including whether the outcome could be a referendum on Modi government or not.
“We have been saying from the very beginning that it is a new BJP”.
The statement by party elders however is clearly targeted at those running the affairs of the BJP especially Shah and his rather abrupt style of leadership. “People were feeling suffocated and they got courage with the Bihar election and now they are speaking”, he added.
Flaying Modi for his use of “indecorous laguage”, the veteran party leader said he came in RJD supremo Lalu Prasad’s trap and “fell” to his standards while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar remained dignified, attracting voters from across communities. The BJP office in New Delhi was deserted on Monday with workers compiling newspaper clippings on the election defeat in Bihar.
The Finance Minister also ruled out any impact of Bihar poll results on investor sentiment and said the economic reforms will continue. Mr. Kejriwal said “The way the prime minister was working with arrogance and pride, and the manner in which the Modi-Amit Shah duo was functioning dictatorially, this poll result has broken the Centre’s arrogance”. In a damning indictment of the party’s campaign at what was seen as “communal polarisation”, the Election Commission had to step in to stop release of more such advertisements. One issue in particular became a focus of the BJP ̶ the slaughtering of cows, which are sacred to Hindus but not to other religions.
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Taking potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RJD chief said, “It’s nice that the Prime Minister congratulated Nitishji; did he wish him from his heart?”
