In his first interview after the Bihar elections and the general elections in nine other states, the BJP president JP Nadda He says Akhilesh singh that the victory against the RJD-led alliance is important even though the organization could have accomplished more. Talk about the main themes of the campaign and the meaning of the verdict. Excerpts from the interview:
Do you think the Bihar results meet your expectations?
I think largely yes. But we could have gotten more support. People expected more. I think organizationally, more activation could have gotten more support. And we lost some very tight margin seats. We could have done better there. And there is always room for improvement. But yes, if we think in terms of victory, we have succeeded. And people have supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies and programs. Particularly in the last three years, the schemes started by Modiji and implemented in Bihar by Nitish Kumar have given us results.
But this is said to be a win for BJP, not NDA.
This is not justified. We have to take things in their entirety and each has their own base of support. When all the bases of support unite, victory occurs. Like I said, we could have done better. Everyone should apply this in their own case, but I think NDA has delivered a good performance and a good result. JD (U) also performed well.
JD (U) is at his lowest score and BJP is at his highest score. Why does BJP avoid taking credit?
Since we fight together, we must remain united at all times. This is our organizational policy. We believe that every drop counts, so everyone’s positive contribution must be accepted and respected. If we don’t stick together, everything will disperse and fall apart. If we start to claim credit for everything, it will be very improper. We create an environment together and we benefit from it. There is no doubt that the prime minister’s policies have greatly benefited everyone. Whether they are Dalits or poor or harassed and abused. These people in particular have been very supportive of Modiji.
Considering the status of his alliance in Bihar, can we say that he will now play a big brother role?
We have never believed in those roles. We believe in equality. Also, if someone says logical things, we support it. We are running the NDA, we take them all together. We always respect everyone, treat them equally and take care of their well-being. So it is not about older or younger brother.
There is a question related to this. If we look at the two sides in Bihar, they are almost the same. You have won a narrow majority …
We are making sincere efforts to this end, continuously. Also, we do our best to reach out to everyone and to reach out to them sincerely. Our biggest impediment is that there are many distracting people (a part of the voters), who want to win their vote by dividing them. This is our challenge. Maintaining this challenge and the delicate nature of this challenge, we have to move on. I can say this with complete conviction that we move forward in every election. For a strong nation, it is our responsibility to maintain and protect the social fabric. There are many people who keep their family first, their party second, and their country last. For us, the nation comes first, the party second, and no concept of family. So the fight is very hard but we are winning.
Bihar’s mandate indicates that the people are willing to hand over leadership to BJP. Is BJP equipped to meet the challenge in Bihar in the future?
Leadership is not the issue. But our ideology must spread everywhere and with that ideology, we want to serve the people. We want to bring everyone together with us. Considering the integrity of our alliance, we have said that Nitish Kumarji will be our leader. After the elections, the prime minister reiterated that Nitishji will be our leader. This is our way of working. Whatever we say, we do it by serving the needs of the nation.
In this election, LJP hurt NDA, certainly JD (U). Can it be said that the return of LJP to NDA in Bihar is not possible?
You can say yes. We were four parties that fought together and four parties won the trust of the people. And we had clearly said that in Bihar we have no relationship with LJP. So with this in mind, we will execute our functions.
Then in the Center, LJP is part of NDA?
At the Center, the matter is different. But in Bihar, this is what it is.
The prime minister said very strongly that this is a vote for the development agenda. But if we get to the basic realities, then the question returns to caste. Tickets are also delivered keeping the breed factor in mind.
We have to take both things into account. The development agenda has clearly been voted on. People like that. But we also want to bring everyone together. Sabka saath. Keeping that philosophy in mind, we have to bring ourselves to society so that everyone can be represented. Not only in caste factors, but representation must be present. When we can have a balanced representation of each caste, not because we want to please and satisfy a particular caste, but because we want to bring everyone together. There may be different reasons. One reason may be that someone wants to divide people. Another may be that we have to bring everyone together. There is also a positive aspect and also a negative aspect. Development is only possible when we have the participation of everyone.
The prime minister recently spoke of the participation of young people and the representation of women as well. What does it mean for the party?
It is a continuous process. If you look at the structure of our party, there is no district chief who is over 45 years old. It has not been stipulated by the constitution. But we, with our planning, have kept the average age of our national team at 50. So we like to give young people opportunities. Who is going to run the party after 10 years? When I was appointed general secretary, I was also under 50 years old. We have to give opportunities to young people and new talents.
We have seen in recent times that it focuses more on national problems than local ones. Even in Bihar, this was the case.
It would be wrong to say that we have only addressed core issues. If you look at the speeches of the prime minister and everyone else too. Among the national issues, only three things have been mentioned: Article 370, development and Ram Janmabhoomi. These are national problems. In addition to this, there is Atmanirbhar Bihar. Take ‘makhana’ for example. Rs 172 crore spent on the ‘matsya palan’ scheme. Similarly, the electrification of the railways. Darbhanga-Katihar section. Darbhanga-Jaynagar section. Overpasses have been built. We also address the issue of the Raj jungle, a very local issue. We keep everything together. Bihar is part of India, so regional issues are important, but national issues cannot be overlooked. People went to Lal Chowk in Srinagar and Ayodhya from Bihar too. Wasn’t there a Bihar regiment in Galwan?
A factor that may be of national importance was seen in Bihar with the performance of AIMIM. What is your opinion?
Political questions must be answered politically. We accept this challenge. There is no shortcut. People are the most important. It is our responsibility to tell people the truth. We know that some parts of Hyderabad are a worrying place. But we address these issues there, on the basis of ideology in a democratic matter. Different types of cells are present in the human body, we have to develop antibodies against some of them. We have to balance those cells with good cells. In the same way, we have to increase the number of people in society who promote nationalism. Previously, the agenda in Bihar used to be ‘tel pilayyan, laathi ghumayyan’. Today we force them to talk about employment and development. Who gave the development agenda? Modiji. We are forcing all political parties to speak of nationalism.
A political issue here is that the AIMIM victory has provided political benefits to the NDA, indirectly. The next elections will be held in West Bengal and AIMIM has claimed that it will fight there in large numbers as well. Will BJP benefit from their participation there too?
We do not work with any baisakhi (crutch). We walk our own path, we promote our own ideology. We do not think about such electoral tactics. We do not carry anyone’s luggage. In West Bengal, there is goonda raj, communalism, corruption, bad government, state sponsored violence. There is a climate of fear. The party and the police are in cahoots. We will fight in elections on these issues. We will not try to please a particular section, we will tell everyone to vote for us … the truth has power.
The prime minister has faced personal attacks in every election. In the Gujarat and Bihar elections, Rahul Gandhi used the word “coward” for the prime minister. How do you see this?
The prime minister’s work and conduct speak for him, in his favor … his austerity comes to his aid. It also comes to the aid of the nation. These people, when they use these words, it is their frustration. It is an indication that they will never change for the better. See, I’ve also said before that realization is the first step towards improvement. They have exhausted their sportsmanship.
Former US President Barack Obama, in his book, says that Rahul Gandhi has a “nervous and reportless quality” as a student eager to impress the teacher, but lacks the aptitude and passion to “master the subject.”
I have always said that Rahul Gandhi has limited knowledge and is tutored. You don’t do the homework on your own and you don’t have an original thought Therefore, a reflection of this does occur. However, it is up to him and his party to evaluate, but there has to be a national perspective.
Several TMC leaders have joined the BJP in West Bengal, now we hear that a few more ministers are joining their party.
Well, I don’t want to comment on any individual, but the operation of TMC under Mamata Banerjee is not scientific, whereas we run the party scientifically. People join us and feel more comfortable. Take, for example, Mukulji (Mukul Roy), who is with us after being with TMC for several years. But look at the comfort with which it has been with us. We believe in the natural leadership process that arises. We respect talent and, as the Prime Minister said, performance pays off at BJP. TMC and various regional parties are family-controlled companies.
As party chairman, will there be an effort to win back the NDA allies who have resigned in recent years?
I reiterate that we are committed to the coalition dharma and we always try to bring all friends. We have not left anyone, but others have left us for different reasons. However, the national interest will not be compromised. The reforms and the national interest are not negotiable.
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