The president of JD (U) was speaking to journalists here for the first time after the results of the assembly elections came out and the NDA obtained a clear majority, although his own party suffered a fall and was overtaken by the junior partner. BJP. The JD (U) won 43 seats compared to 71 for the saffron party.
“You guys didn’t do well. I say the same thing at the last rally in every election ant bhala to sab bhala (all is well if it ends well),” Kumar said when asked about his final remarks at an election meeting to which addressed. in the Purnea district last week, shortly before the end of the campaign for the final phase of the polls.
“Listen to what I said before and after and you will understand the context. If I had, I would not have misinterpreted it,” said Kumar, whose words “ye mere aakhiri chunaav hai” (this is my last choice) were interpreted by the opposition as a admission of impending defeat and a ploy to strike a chord with an angry electorate.
However, the JD (U) leaders later came out with a clarification that “aakhiri chunaav” meant “aakhiri chunaavi sabha” (last election meeting) and Kumar did not refer to retirement.
The 69-year-old prime minister, who has been in power since 2005, seemed unhappy with projections of strong anti-incumbency during the elections and predictions of a government defeat.
“I have been selflessly serving the people. Still, some people managed to create some confusion. They must have noticed the anxieties that were unleashed in the public mind following the projections of the exit polls,” Kumar said.
Most exit polls had predicted a comfortable victory for the RJD-led Grand Alliance, prompting fears among those who were not sympathetic to Lalu Prasad’s party that his return to power could lead to anarchy. .
“Jungle Raj,” alluding to the supposed lawlessness that prevailed during the 15 years that Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi had ruled the state, became the recurring theme of the NDA’s election campaign.
Giving weight to the narrative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, credited with stellar performance by the BJP, had repeatedly warned the people of the state against promises made by Prasad’s heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, whom he never mentioned for his name but that was always referred to as “jungle raj ke yuvraj”.
Yadav was also the top ministerial candidate for the RJD-led Grand Alliance.
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