Bankipur verdict a message to PM for making Samrat Choudhary CM: Prashant Kishor
Hours after securing a historic victory in the Bankipur bypoll and wresting a seat held by the BJP for more than three decades, Jan Suraaj
Hours after securing a historic victory in the Bankipur bypoll and wresting a seat held by the BJP for more than three decades, Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor said the verdict was a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against imposing Samrat Choudhary, whom he described as a symbol of “jungle raj”, on Bihar. “You have made a man associated with ‘jungle raj’ the Chief Minister and then claim that you oppose jungle raj,” Kishor said in an exclusive interview with India Today TV. Read Full Story He argued that Bankipur voters had rejected the BJP’s leadership model and punished the party for taking its traditional supporters for granted. “The party that wins has the right to make anyone it wants the Chief Minister. But if it appoints such a Chief Minister, people also have the opportunity to express themselves through their vote,” Kishor said. ‘ARE THERE NO CAPABLE PEOPLE LEFT IN BJP?’ Questioning the BJP’s decision to elevate Choudhary, Kishor asked whether the party had run out of capable leaders. “Are there no capable people left in the BJP?” he asked. Kishor also criticised Choudhary’s public conduct, saying his language was not befitting of a Chief Minister. He maintained that his opposition was not personal but directed against what he described as leadership imposed on Bihar.
“I have no objection if the Chief Minister is from the BJP. But the person should be capable and competent,” he said. ‘BANKIPUR VOTERS WERE TRADITIONAL BJP SUPPORTERS’ Kishor argued that most of those who backed Jan Suraaj in Bankipur were not traditional BJP opponents but party supporters unhappy with its “arrogance”. “The important thing to note is that most of the people who voted for Jan Suraaj in Bankipur are BJP supporters,” he said. “They voted this way because they do not accept the BJP’s arrogance. They do not accept the attitude that even if the party gives a ticket to a dog or a cat, people will still be compelled to vote for it,” he added. Kishor claimed the BJP lost at more than 400 of Bankipur’s 422 polling booths, describing the result as a rejection of the party’s leadership model. He said ordinary voters could not directly meet the Prime Minister to convey their dissatisfaction and had therefore used the ballot to send their message. ‘BIHAR NEEDS JOBS, NOT JUST 5 KG RATION’ Kishor also targeted the Centre over Bihar’s economic condition, accusing PM Modi of focusing heavily on Gujarat while offering Bihar little beyond free foodgrain. “Modi ji is so concerned about Gujarat, but he has nothing for Bihar except 5 kg of foodgrain.
The BriefWire