Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Saturday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of "instilling fear of Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)" among voters to "get votes" in the Bihar polls. According to Kishor, the people of Bihar are seeking a new option to vote this time - the Jan Suraaj.
"PM Modi is trying to get votes by instilling fear of the RJD because he has nothing else to say. For the last several decades, the best way for NDA, BJP, and Nitish Kumar to get votes has been to show the fear of Lalu so that people would say that, whether the work is done or not, at least the 'jungle raj' is not back. But this time, the situation has changed. If you're saying Jungle Raj shouldn't return, but then why should you (NDA)? Jan Suraaj is a new alternative," Kishor said.
"Jungle raj" is an apparent reference to the time when Bihar was under the rule of RJD chief Lalu Yadav - former Chief Minister and father of Grand Alliance Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav. The BJP, for years, has been using it to hit out at the Opposition.
Last week, the PM said that the 'jungle raj' in Bihar will not be forgotten in another 100 years and asked BJP workers in the state to urge the elderly voters to pass down the memories of that time to the younger generations. He also took a swipe at the Opposition alliance, calling it "lathbandhan" (a coalition of criminals) instead of gathbandhan (alliance), declaring that all its leaders from Delhi and Bihar are out on bail.
The first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections recorded a voter turnout of record 64.66 per cent - the highest in the state's history. Before this, the highest figure for an Assembly election in Bihar was 62.57 per cent in 2000. For Lok Sabha elections, the state's highest voter turnout was 64.6 per cent in 1998.
The second phase of the polls is scheduled for November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled on November 14.
