Updated: October 10, 2020 8:46:18 am
Sanjay Jaiswal, President of Bihar BJP. (Source: Twitter / @ sanjayjaiswalMP)
Amid the political turmoil in the NDA before the Bihar Assembly elections, with the LJP leaving the NDA in the state and at least five ‘rebels’ from the BJP changing positions, Sanjay Jaiswal, chairman of the BJP in Bihar , he tells The Indian Express “only those who accept Nitish Kumar as CM can remain part of the NDA.”
The NDA is a divided house in Bihar. How is it going to impact the polls?
It is not divided at all. In Bihar, the leader of the NDA is Nitish Kumar and anyone who accepts Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister is part of the NDA. Those who disagree are not part of the NDA.
But the LJP is still part of the government in the Center.
It does not matter. Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP founder and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution) was not in a position to make decisions. If he was working, things would have been different. Unfortunately, those who are deciding the issue are on the wrong track. We try to conform… but they are not very practical people.
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There are accusations that the BJP has propped up the ‘rebels’ against the JD (U).
We have never done that kind of policy. We will try to convince each rebel until the last withdrawal date… If we cannot bring them back into our fold until 5 pm on October 12, action will be taken against them. They are part of our party and we do not want them to go in the wrong direction.
Is it true that Nitish Kumar was upset and refused to attend the joint press conference?
Absolutely not. We are in a very cordial relationship. Interestingly, when we had discussions about seating arrangements, we had some issues with the candidates. We took two candidates from the side of JD (U) – Pramod Sinha and Krish Kumar Mandal for Shahpur Kalan and Amnour – and the JD (U) reciprocated by taking two of our candidates into their fold – Amar Kumar Singh and Saba Zafar (Amour ).
But the JD (U) is visibly upset that the BJP rebels turned to the LJP to compete against the candidates of the JD (U) and HAM (Hindustani Awam Morcha).
The JD (U) district president in Kaimur has joined LJP and is fighting our candidate, who is a sitting MLA. It is a two way story. Both sides try to pacify them (the rebels). Upon completion of the withdrawal date, both parties will take action against them.
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The LJP says that Nitish Kumar is not the Nitish Kumar of 2000 or 2005… Why does the BJP still project him as the face of the alliance?
Look at the way Nitish Kumar has handled governance since 2005. It has been phenomenal … We are going to win with more than 200 seats.
Given that there have been so many problems between partners, how are BJP and its allies ensuring unity and mutual support among workers during the campaign?
That is not a problem. We have coordinating committees in each district. The four parties – BJP, JD (U), HAM and Mukesh Sahni’s party (Vikassheel Insaan Party) – will work together. We have a very cordial relationship. We know each other well.
Would you allow LJP to use PM Modi posters in its campaign?
PM Modi is our star activist, number one on our list. How can someone else use the star activist of the NDA? If they do, the Electoral Commission should take action. We have communicated this in writing to the EC.
The Hathras incident has sparked widespread protests across the country. How will it affect the polls in Bihar?
Whatever happens is regrettable. The Uttar Pradesh government has already taken action: an SIT has been established.
What are the main challenges for the BJP? The state has faced several crises – Covid, return of migrant workers, floods, etc. There is also an anti-incumbent factor and now an ally with almost 5 percent of the vote is fighting separately.
People will decide what kind of government they want. They have seen Mahagathbandhan rule from 1990 to 2015. They have also seen the rule of the NDA. They will choose what they want. Whatever people choose, we will accept. In the last eight months, people have seen our work and how pro-poor we are.
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