In a remarkable feat, the BJP defeated the ruling Grand Alliance in Kurhani assembly by-election in Bihar earlier this month. BJP leader and Union rural development and panchayati raj minister Giriraj Singh attributed the victory of his party to the changing perception of the people about chief minister Nitish Kumar and his governance. In an interview, the 70-year-old Lok Sabha MP from Begusarai in Bihar told Kumar Shakti Shekhar that the BJP would repeat the achievement in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and defeat the alliance of JD(U), RJD, Congress and other parties in the state. Excerpts:
How did the BJP register victory in the Kurhani by-election against the multi-party coalition of Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan)?
There is a misconception in Indian politics. The political parties do not have votes as a result of any alliance. The votes are with the people. The people were angry with (Bihar chief minister) Nitish Kumar and the JD(U) candidate. The people voted for us (BJP). The Mahagathbandhan parties were doing mathematical calculations by adding up their vote banks. All these parties were united against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. But the people were with Modi, who won. In the same manner, the defeat of Nitish Kumar in Kurhani was because of his face and his failures. This is how I see it.
Do you not believe that the Grand Alliance’s caste arithmetic – such as the adding up of castes like Yadavs, Koeris, Kurmis along with the Muslims – is enough to defeat the BJP?
These political parties used Hinduism’s caste arrangements and divided the castes for political purposes. They have inflicted more harm to Indian society than the Mughals or the Britishers. You said only Muslims but you did not name Sheikhs and Saiyyads. You spelt out the castes among the Hindus. These politicians divided the Hindus on the basis of castes. But an awakening is now happening slowly and gradually in society about the importance of perception and not the combination of castes and religion in politics. The perception about Nitish Kumar and his government has spoiled. That is why Nitish Kumar lost.
The RJD, JD(U) and Congress formed the Grand Alliance In the 2015 Bihar assembly election. They defeated the BJP. How will the BJP win against the Mahagathbandhan in the 2025 assembly election?
As I told you, a party has to build a perception. We had to face defeat because we could not build that perception. The 2015 mandate against the BJP was the result of the way some political parties divided the Hindus into castes and competed among themselves to indulge in appeasement of Muslims for the sake of votes. But an awakening is gradually happening in society about the leadership or party which should be voted to power.
It is alleged that Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) helps the BJP in elections?
It is a wrong belief. Owaisi is neither B team or A team of the BJP. He is the carbon copy of (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah (the first prime minister of Pakistan).
But it is observed that AIMIM eats into the votes of the BJP’s opponents.
The Congress and the members of the tukde-tukde gangs kept partying by appeasing the Muslims till now. A new Jinnah has emerged.
The BJP lost in Himachal Pradesh assembly and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections. What are the reasons behind the defeat in the two polls?
We have not lost anything. The BJP lost by less than 1 per cent vote share in Himachal Pradesh. We could not break the perception of revolving governments of the BJP and the Congress. We are accepting what we could not achieve. Our performance in MCD has been remarkable. No one had said we would win more than 50, 60 or 70 wards. But we crossed the 100-seat mark.
Before the recent elections, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and MCD were with the BJP. But it has lost two out of three.
Why do you attach so much importance to the MCD election. MCD is just a municipal corporation. Would you have discussed it had any other party lost it?
I talked about the MCD election because the BJP fielded several of its chief ministers and Union ministers for campaigning.
All kinds of campaigns take place these days. The leaders take part in these campaigns.
