"As Of Now, Nitish Kumar Is Leading": Bihar Minister To NDTV Ahead Of Polls

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, in an exclusive interview with NDTV, reaffirmed the BJP's full support for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar "for now" while mounting a full-spectrum attack on the Mahagathbandhan, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, accusing them of "appeasement politics".

"We are working under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. The central leadership will decide on seat sharing and the Chief Minister face. When BJP leadership sits down, it can think about it," Mr Chaudhary told NDTV. "As of now, Nitish is leading."

Amid protests over the Election Commission's voter list revision exercise, Mr Choudhary insisted that the process was necessary to prevent illegal voting by "Bangladeshi infiltrators," particularly in border districts such as Kishanganj.

"In the last six months, there has been a rush for residential certificates in Kishanganj. 2.41 lakh applications were received. People have come from outside and settled," Mr Choudhary stated. "What is the issue if the people of Bihar want to become voters? But if the data shows that ten times more applications are coming, it raises questions. The concern is about infiltration, not targeting Muslims."

The Deputy Chief Minister defended the Election Commission's special drive to update Bihar's voter rolls, dismissing allegations by the Opposition that the exercise targets minorities.

"They should trust the Election Commission. Hearings are scheduled in the Supreme Court on July 10. Why take to the streets and cause suffering to common people?" Mr Choudhary asked.

His remarks come against the backdrop of a dramatic show of strength by the opposition INDIA bloc, spearheaded by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Mr Gandhi, joined by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(ML)'s Dipankar Bhattacharya, and other opposition leaders, led a protest march to the Election Commission office in Patna, denouncing the voter list revision.

"Those who are raising alarms are the ones who benefitted from booth capturing. RJD looted Bihar, Congress looted the country. My advice to them is run a campaign at the booth level, not on the streets," he said.

Bihar Has "Two Models"

"There are only two models in Bihar - the Lalu model and the Nitish model. Lalu drove people out of Bihar. We're calling them back," Mr Chaudhary said. "Even one lakh jobs were not given during Lalu's time. Nitish created seven lakh jobs and gave government employment to 2.5 lakh people. Now, we aim for 12 lakh government jobs and 38 lakh employment opportunities."

On law and order, Mr Choudhary acknowledged that while individual crimes will occur, the Nitish government has kept organised crime under control.

"No one can prevent individual murders. But we cracked the Khemka case in 72 hours. He had returned his security which was provided to him after six years. The conspiracy had an RJD link. Power is no longer feeding crime. We remember when ransom payments were mediated by Lalu himself," he said.

Asked about Chirag Paswan's role in the NDA, Mr Choudhary said, "He is a third-term MP from Bihar. There is no issue of shifting. All of us, including Chirag, say - Bihar first."