BJP's Dream Of Expanding Its Eastern Presence Will End After Bihar Polls, Says Sachin Pilot

Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday exuded confidence that the Grand Alliance will be victorious in Bihar and added that BJP's dream of expanding its footprints in Eastern Indian states will end with the assembly elections in the state.

He also said that the Grand Alliance was setting the agenda for Bihar's development as its promise of providing 10 lakh government jobs was being parroted by the BJP which said it will create 19 lakh employment opportunities in the state. The Grand Alliance consists of the RJD, the Congress and three Left parties.

"We (Grand Alliance) will claim a historic victory in Bihar assembly elections and it is going to have its impact on the rest of the country. The BJP has plans to expand its footprints in the eastern part of the country especially in West Bengal and Assam. But we will stop them in Bihar," Pilot told reporters.

West Bengal is now ruled by the Trinamool Congress while Assam is governed by a coalition headed by the BJP. Assembly elections in both states are likely to be held between March and May next year.After decades of its limited presence in West Bengal, the BJP has emerged as the main rival to the ruling Trinamool Congress and won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.

Terming as "indecent" the Bihar CM's recent statements against Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family, Pilot said, "it shows his political immaturity and nervousness". At an election meeting on October 26, Nitish Kumar had said that no development policy can be expected from people producing 8-9 kids in order to have a son. This was seen as an indirect reference to Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, who have nine children including Tejashwi Yadav.

Pilot also criticised the BJP for its poll promise of providing free Covid-19 vaccine to the people of the state, saying "putting this in the manifesto proves their mental bankruptcy.”

Pilot also raked up Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2015 remark when he had attacked Nitish Kumar. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised questions on Nitish Kumar’s DNA during the last assembly elections. The same person has now aligned with the BJP which criticised him," Pilot said attacking the chief minister. The CM and his party can go to any extent just to remain in power and such a person cannot do any good to Bihar, Pilot added.

Nitish Kumar severed ties with the BJP after Modi was named as the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

In 2015, Nitish had invited Modi to dinner and later cancelled. A few months later, at a rally, the prime minister had said, "There seems to be some problem in his (Nitish Kumar's) DNA, because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In democracy, you respect even your political rivals."

JD(U) joined the Grand Alliance consisting of the RJD and the Congress and won the 2015 assembly election. But after two years, he withdrew from the coalition over corruption charges against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and returned to the NDA to form a new government.