BJP will be a 'force to reckon with' in Bihar assembly polls: Yogendra Yadav

New Delhi, Sep 8: Former Aam Aadmi Party leader and well known psephologist Yogendra Yadav has claimed that the BJP will emerge as the pre-eminent force in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

In an interview to TOI, the expelled AAP leader has predicted given the current political situation in the state, BJP will be a force to reckon in the state polls while CM Nitish Kumar is now a tragic figure.

Yadav was quoted by TOI as saying, "No matter who forms the government, BJP will emerge as the pre-eminent political force in Bihar. This is a major shift from what Bihar used to be. Remember, BJP used to be the number 3 or number 4 party in Bihar. We cannot be sure of the outcome, that's a guessing game. But the manner in which the game is being played is BJP vs the rest, all major political formations coming up against the BJP. What this does, is it makes the BJP the number 1 political force in Bihar."

The Swaraj Abhiyan leader has, however, expressed his concern over the saffron party's dominance for he fears BJP's emergence in Bihar will be a tragedy because it will reverse all the gains of social justice politics of the last two decades.

To support his claim Yadav told the news daily that BJP -- which enjoys the support of upper caste, dalits and lower OBCs -- will reverse the existing social system in the state. The former AAP leader has blamed Lalu and Nitish for the same.

"What began as a major change of the feudal mindset of Bihar got stuck because social justice did not translate into developmental gains. Lalu Yadav's first government brought huge changes, the fact of his being there was the huge change. After that, the second and third regimes were a curse on Bihar. Nothing happened or was allowed to happen. Unless the politics of social justice can be combined with something for ordinary people on a day to day basis we have the danger of the gains of social justice being rolled back, without corresponding gains in the governance being offered," Yadav explained.

Asked why does the arithmetic is not in favour of the Lalu-Nitish grand alliance, Yadav said "whenever grand coalitions have been formed against one force (BJP), that force emerges dominant".

Earlier he slammed Delhi Chief Minister and former AAP colleague Arvind Kejriwal for joining hands with Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad in Bihar, saying the move amounted to "selling out the soul of the anti-corruption movement".

Targetting the AAP convenor for choosing to back Bihar CM Nitish and Lalu for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, Yadav told, "It is like selling out the soul of the anti- corruption movement".

OneIndia News