Alliance with JD(U) intact: Shah

We will contest and win all 40 LS seats in Bihar, says BJP chief

In between breakfast and dinner here on Thursday with Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, BJP president Amit Shah sent a message to the Opposition that the JD(U) will remain an ally of the NDA and told the rank and file of his party that they have to develop a knack of winning elections.

In the backdrop of the reported unease in the relation between the JD(U) and the BJP, he said, “We know how to take care of our allies and give them respect.”

 On the Opposition unity, he reacted, “Jab sare chor ek sath ho jayen to smajh lo ke raja imandar hai” (When all thieves unite, it means the ruler is honest).

After his breakfast meeting with Kumar, Shah said, “Nitish ji aur hamara gathbandhan bana rahega. Kuchchh nahi hone wala” (Nitish’s alliance with us will remain intact. Nothing is going to happen). We will contest and win all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.”

This was Shah’s first visit to Bihar after the formation of the NDA Government. Earlier, he had visited the State during 2015 Assembly polls when the JD(U) was not in the NDA. 

Addressing functionaries of the social media, IT cell and other wings of the party at Gyan Bhavan, Shah praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Army’s surgical strike against Pakistan, enhancing India’s image globally, providing relief to all sections of society, and carrying out reforms in all sectors.

He said under Modi, the BJP has emerged as the biggest political party in the world.

“We ended the chapters of ‘jatiwad’ and ‘parivarwad’ from politics. The BJP is not a party of any particular family. Today we are the largest party and we have reached this position through sustained struggle,” he said.

With marigold garlands and rose petals, Shah was accorded a ‘shahi’ welcome at the airport where all the State BJP leaders, including Union Ministers from Bihar, queued up to receive him.

He drove straight to the State guesthouse where Kumar arrived minutes before with a heavy bouquet.

However, on way to the guest house from the airport at Beiley Road a group of Congress, Youth Congress and NSUI workers attempted to show black flags. The BJP workers clashed with them and police intervened to drive out the protesters.

Shah said with election nearing there were murmurs in the Opposition camp for a national front to take

on the NDA. “In 2014 too similar attempts had been made and we defeated all of them. It will happen again in 2019 with NDA’s bigger victory and absolute majority. In UP our tally will go up from 72. It may be 73 or more,” the BJP chief claimed.