Saryu Rai to campaign for RJD in Bihar

RANCHI: Former minister and current Independent MLA from Jamshedpur (East) Saryu Rai will campaign for a few key leaders in the upcoming Bihar assembly election as a return of favour to a few key leaders who helped him clinch the historic victory against former chief minister Raghubar Das in his home turf. The Bihar state election is slated to be held later this year.
Rai said the reason he cannot sit mute during the Bihar polls is because “the state is still very much connected with Jharkhand, despite its bifurcation in 2000.”
“There is still a Bihar in Jharkhand. Places like Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Deoghar have large populations of Biharis and it is difficult to stay mute when there are polls in Bihar,” he said.
Talking to TOI, Rai said, “I am opening the campaign trails of Pappu Yadav and Narendra Singh (both from RJD). They directly or indirectly helped me during the assembly election and it is time for me to return their favour. However, I shall do so in my individual capacity and not on their party lines,” he said.
He said if RJD supremo Lalu Prasad asks him to campaign for others too, he shall oblige. “I still share a good rapport with Laluji, so if he personally seeks assistance for someone on any seat, I shall do so,” Rai said. Interestingly, it was Rai who had red-flagged the fodder and road scams during Lalu’s tenure as the chief minister and had demanded his conviction.
However, in the same breath, Rai also said that if he were to campaign on party lines, he would throw his weight behind chief minister Nitish Kumar and his party Janata Dal (United). “He (Nitish) too had contributed immensely in my poll campaigns in the last election and my bonding with him dates back to decades. He was never against me on any platform,” said Rai.
Asked about helping out BJP, Rai said, “At the party level I cannot as I have left the camp. But I can drop in for grassroot workers in my personal capacity if required.”
According to Rai, if the Bihar election is fought on the plank of corruption, he shall draw a similarity between the Lalu Prasad regime and the Raghubar Das government. “I believe both the governments had wrongdoings,” Rai said.
“Just like Laluji’s regime, Das’ government too was corrupt. I have been raising the issue of Meinhardt, the consultancy firm roped in for sewerage system in Ranchi, and the scam related to it. I have also written a book on it which is sort of a written proof of wrongdoings. There were other issues too,” he said.
According to Rai, NDA has a clear edge in the polls and may likely form the government. “It’s my hunch and the reason I say so is because there is still no clear cut alternative and the Mahagatbandhan is still in disarray,” Rai said.