BJP will make backward Bihar forward in development: Amit Shah

Seeking to turn the tables on RJD chief Lalu Prasad over his “forward vs backward battle” rhetoric, BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday said NDA wanted Bihar to be no longer a “pichhda (backward)” state but to become a “agda (forward)” state. In a series of public meetings, Shah also pitched for rallying Dalits and extremely backward castes around the BJP-led alliance, saying they suffered the most during Prasad’s 15 year “jungle raj” in the state. “Lalu and Nitish do the forward vs backward politics, while BJP is working to make backward Bihar a forward state in development. We believe in politics of development,” he said.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the NDA’s priority was development of the poorest and most deprived sections of society, Shah said. “If you want development, if you want development policies for youths, Dalits, backwards and women and their effective execution then you must vote for NDA,” he said.

He claimed that any expectation of development from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was futile due to his alliance with RJD and Congress, which has become a “symbol of corruption”. The third phase of polling in Bihar is due on October 28.