A visibly joyous atmosphere prevailed in the head office of the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the party confirmed its victory by winning majority in Bihar.
Maharashtra’s former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was in-charge of the party in Bihar, said that the people of Bihar clearly voted in favour of development and not “jungle raj”. “The verdict is a clear manifestation of people’s trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar,” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Mr. Fadnavis said that the BJP’s strike rate in Bihar has increased to 67% in 2020 from 34% in 2015. “Credit goes to the pro-poor policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and efforts of party workers to ensure it reaches to all poor,” he said, adding that “entire Bihar participated in the polls despite the pandemic and set an example in front of the world”.
The BJP also grabbed the opportunity to target the Congress and the Shiv Sena for joining hands in Maharashtra. “Congress joined hands with the Shiv Sena and suffered in Bihar. In Bihar, the ‘prince of jungle raj’ [a reference to Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav, son of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Yadav] was denied for joining hands with the corrupt Congress, and in Maharashtra the ‘prince of jungle’ [a reference to Shiv Sena's Aaditya Thackeray, son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray] is allying with the same corrupt Congress. Those who understand the politics should take a cue,” said BJP MLA Ashish Shelar.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) meanwhile congratulated Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav for single-handedly countering the BJP and giving a tough fight. “Every youth should take inspiration from Tejaswi. I congratulate him. He has done exceedingly well,” said NCP State president and Irrigation Minister Jayant Patil.
