- Speaking to NDTV in Purnea, the Union Home Minister said infiltrators will be rooted out in next five years
- The SIR is also a reason why the voting percentage increased, Shah said
- 122 seats in Bihar will vote in the second phase on Tuesday
Expressing confidence that the NDA will return to power with over 160 of the 243 seats in Bihar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said infiltration is a big issue in the state and especially in the Seemanchal region, which has 24 seats.
Speaking to NDTV's Editor (Politics) Vasudha Venugopal in Purnea on Saturday, Shah said infiltrators will be rooted out in the next five years.
"Infiltration is a very important issue. The entire Seemanchal region is troubled because of illegal infiltrators, their illegal businesses, and illegal encroachment. And this directly affects the law and order here. We have decided that, in the next five years, we will throw out the infiltrators, shut down their illegal businesses, and remove every single illegal encroachment one by one," Shah said.
Asked about the NDA's prospects in Bihar, Shah said the alliance is going to sweep the elections and he has seen people's enthusiasm growing as the poll process rolls on.
"The way people cheer for us, I feel that the people of Bihar are with the NDA, with the BJP. We will go much beyond 160 seats. The NDA will get a minimum of 160 seats. I call it a fight by five Pandavas because all five constituent parties [JDU, BJP, LJP (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha and the Rashtriya Lok Manch] of the NDA are united, without any dispute. We are running a joint campaign on the ground, from the booth level to the state level, under the leadership of Narendra Modi ji and Nitish Kumar ji," he said.
To a question on the record voter turnout of 64.66 per cent in the first phase, which sometimes indicates anti-incumbency, the senior BJP leader said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar had a role to play in that.
"The SIR is also a reason why the voting percentage increased, because the wasted votes - those who had passed away or were living elsewhere - were also removed," he said.
The second phase of voting in Bihar, covering 122 constituencies, including all four districts in the Seemanchal region, will be held on Tuesday. Counting will be done on Friday.
