RJD Plans Chaos: Nitish Kumar's Deputy On Face-Off With Opposition Leader

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, after a day of run-ins with Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders, supporters and the police, reiterated the intention to run "bulldozers" over criminal elements and accused the police of laxity. 

Amid the bumper turnout for the Phase 1 election, there were jarring incidents - ones the BJP declared were examples of what law and order would be if the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal comes to power.  A CPI-ML leader was attacked and RJD's Bhai Virendra Singh publicly threatened a poll official. Sinha, too, was targeted.  

Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, Sinha said such incidents have been occurring over several days. 

"However, the Superintendent of Police, under whose rule these incidents are taking place, is not taking any action, which is a matter of great concern. Some members of the administration seem to be completely inactive during the elections," he added. 

His allegations that people were not being allowed to vote in Lakhisarai had been contradicted by the police, who said voting was being held "peacefully".

Asked about his big face-off with RJD MLC Ajay Singh in Lakhisarai - a video of which is being widely circulated on social media -- Sinha, the sitting MLA from the constituency, described the sequence of events.

RJD members, he said, were preventing people from the Extremely Backward Classes from voting at several polling booths in the area. "As soon as we received information about this, I rushed to the spot," Sinha said. 

"RJD men were intimidating the villagers. They were also preventing voters from going to polling booths. Because of this, no one was at the polling booth. When I tried to enter the village, RJD members started throwing stones and cow dung," he told NDTV. 

"We then backed up the car and went to another locality. Then we got the news that RJD MLC Ajay Singh was intimidating voters in our area. We started going there, and on the way, we met the MLC. He started speaking nonsense. The villagers told us that the MLC was already drunk. He was not a candidate, so what he was doing there should be investigated. I have also written to the administration regarding this," he added. 

The no-holds-barred Bollywood-style confrontation between the two leaders, which was also caught on NDTV camera, had started with "Who are you" and drastically escalated. 

Allegations of drunkenness in dry Bihar, hooliganism and booth capture flew thick and fast. There was even a prediction of a political dead-end: "I'll see you after the 14th. You are done". 

Sinha told NDTV that such incidents reveal the mindset of the RJD and Congress. 

"RJD people create planned chaos . Their mentality is to create frenzy. These people are hooligan elements. Hooliganism is their job," he said. He provided an example: "Today, when my bodyguard moved forward, the RJD MLC pushed women and children forward".

"I said Vijay Sinha has been fighting goons for 20 years. We will run a bulldozer over the chest of goons. It is important to take timely action to instill fear in the hearts of criminals," he added.