No close call, NDA to get 2-3rd majority in Bihar: Ananth Kumar

Patna, Nov 3: Pooh-poohing various survey reports projecting the outcome of Bihar Assembly polls as a close call between the NDA and grand secular alliance, Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ananth Kumar on Tuesday said the NDA will get a decisive mandate with two-third majority in the state.

He had noted a consistency in the voting pattern of the electorate in states and at the national level to decisively vote for a particular party or alliance during the hustings and the trend will be the same in Bihar as well and in favour of the NDA, Ananth Kumar told reporters here.

He trashed the survey reports which predicted a close call between the two sides.

"The people of Bihar, particularly youth and women, have voted for the NDA in large numbers during all four phases of Assembly polls and the pattern will continue in the fifth and final phase of polling in 57 seats on November 5," he predicted.

"We have no doubt that the NDA will get a decisive mandate with two-third majority that will enable us to end 25-year- rule by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar," Ananth Kumar, a key BJP strategist for Bihar Assembly polls, said.

The Minister said the Lalu Prasad regime had hurtled Bihar into chaos and backwardness during his party's 15-year rule in which all institutions of governance had crumbled beyond repair, and this came to be known as 'jungle raj'.

BJP was the only party that stood against RJD's 'jungle raj' and later Nitish Kumar came on board and the two collectively ousted Lalu Prasad's party from power in 2005, Kumar recalled and regretted that Nitish 'betrayed' the saffron party and went back to the same RJD for survival of his government.

The Union Minister took a swipe at the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar for maintaining a 'studied silence' on raging debate over reservation on religious ground and said that their silence will not help them get away from the fact that the two had backed reservation for the minorities in the past.

"There is no provision in the Constitution for giving quota on religious ground, but both Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar had backed quota for the minorities in the past and have now conveniently chosen to keep silent on the issue," Kumar said.

PTI