Bihar in the bag, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the bugle for Bengal, citing the flow of the Ganga as evidence of it being a natural trajectory that the BJP would put an end to “Jungle Raj” in the neighbouring state also.
“The victory in Bihar has paved the way for the BJP’s triumph in Bengal. I want to assure the people of Bengal that, with your support, the BJP will put an end to the Jungle Raj in the state as well,” Modi said as he prepared to wrap up his victory speech at the party headquarters late in the evening.
While Bengal has been high on the BJP agenda for years now, Modi made it clear that the phenomenal win in Bihar had energised the party workers in the states and the Union Territory that go to the polls early next year — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and Assam.
Lauding the people of Bihar for the scale of the win that decimated the Opposition, Modi heaped scorn on the RJD and the Congress, targeting the latter in particular for what he described as its “negative politics”. In the process, he coined a new name for the Congress, pejoratively calling it the “Muslim League Maoist Congress (MMC)”.
“The foundation of the Congress’s political approach is rooted in negativity. It focuses on raising objectionable slogans, disrupting parliamentary proceedings, attacking key institutions, casting doubt on electronic voting machines (EVMs), maligning the Election Commission, and promoting division along lines of caste and religion. The Congress lacks a constructive or forward-looking vision for the nation,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah being greeted by BJP MP Manoj Tiwari and others upon his arrival during the celebration of NDA’s victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, at BJP headquarters, in New Delhi. PTI
Training his guns on the Congress first family without naming the Gandhis, the Prime Minister warned that there could be another big split in the party over the direction the leadership was steering it. He gloated over the fact that the Grand Old Party had been unable to match the number of legislators the BJP had won in Bihar alone in the six Assembly elections held since the Lok Sabha polls.
“If the people are re-electing the BJP-led NDA government, it signifies the establishment of a pro-people, pro-governance and pro-development agenda. This represents a new foundation in Indian politics,” Modi said, contrasting this with what he called the “polarising” MY (Muslim-Yadav) formula of the RJD. “That MY formula has been replaced by a positive MY formula — ‘mahila (women) aur (and) youth’.”
The Prime Minister billed the Congress as parasitic, feeding on the votebank of its partners in the hope of sustaining itself. “Partners of the Congress, be wary of it,” Modi added in keeping with the BJP’s agenda of ensuring a “Congress-mukt Bharat”.
Given the effort put in by Rahul Gandhi to make SIR and “vote theft” an issue in the Bihar election, Modi made it a point to underscore that the polls had proved once again that the Indian voter, particularly the youth, took “purification" of the electoral rolls seriously.
Acknowledging the role of the NDA leadership in the win and the coordination within the constituent parties, the Prime Minister said the people had rejected “Jungle Raj” and voted for development, silencing the nay-sayers. “Bihar will develop faster. More industries will be set up in Bihar so that the youth of Bihar will not have to leave the state for jobs. The world will see a new potential in Bihar. The pilgrimage and historic sites of Bihar will see a change. I want to tell investors of the country and the world that Bihar is ready for your investment. Also, I want to tell the people of Bihar in different parts of the world that this is the best time to invest in Bihar.”