Following the BJP-led NDA’s victory in the Bihar elections 2020, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi spoke exclusively to The Daily Guardian about the work left for the alliance and how much of a dent Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has been. Excerpts:
Q: How much does this victory mean for the NDA alliance?
A. The kind of things happening in Bihar including talks about bringing back Jungle Raj and lies being peddled especially to our youth about giving them 10 lakh jobs have all fallen flat. The voters have reigned supreme and shown their intelligence by choosing the new development model led by Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi. I believe that whatever work is left will be completed before 2025. We will work for every society and strata. This is exactly why we’ve been chosen by the public.
Q: What reasons do you attribute to your victory in Bihar?
A. Development, development and more development and our motto of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikaas’ has certainly worked with the masses. The citizens of Bihar also understood that the opposition was only making tall claims, and the only ones that would help them are Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. Come what may, Nitish Kumar will continue as the Chief Minister of Bihar. There’s no one more equipped or has a bigger stature than him to lead Bihar.
Q: Several controversies have been raised around Chirag Paswan, especially since he went against the alliance and fielded candidates against JD-U. What are your views on this?
A. I have always been saying that Chirag Paswan will only work to cut votes and probably dent us in about 15-20 seats but by the end, he’ll end up with nothing. That is exactly what has happened.
Q: You’ve talked about reviewing alcohol prohibition in Bihar. How are you planning to take this ahead?
A. All of this is for us to sit down and discuss. We have won a second consecutive term but there is still work left to be done and we will all sit together to work out the remaining issues.