‘NDA will get 54% votes’

BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok is known for his frank, precise, and fact-based political comments. He began his political career with the Janata Dal (United) and was once considered very close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He has always been a critic of RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s ideology. In 2022, when Nitish decided to join the Mahagathbandhan, he was expelled from the JD(U) on charges of engaging in anti-party activities. Later, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Upon joining, Alok said, “If even one per cent of my contribution can help advance PM Modi’s vision, it would be a matter of great pride for me.” In an exclusive interview with Imran Mojib of The Statesman, he discussed various aspects of the upcoming assembly elections. Excerpts:

Q: How do you see the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar?

Advertisement

A: The overall scenario is very good. The narrative of our good governance and campaign is resonating with the people of Bihar. We are confident that the results of the 2010 Assembly elections will be repeated.

Q: How significant will the Bihar Assembly elections be in shaping the national political landscape?

A: Bihar is a political state. It always determines the political course of the country. The results will have a significant impact. Especially for the NDA, this will mark an upsurge. This election will also be important because, for the first time, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was conducted in Bihar and voter list correction was carried out across the state. We have also seen a trend of reverse migration of infiltrators due to these government initiatives.

Q: The NDA has not announced its CM face yet.

A: Nitish Kumar is our leader. There is no confusion at all.

Q : But the BJP central leadership has repeatedly said that the CM will be elected by the MLAs.

A: True, Amit Shah said this in Patna. But the very next day, while addressing a rally in Chhapra, he said that Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar are like two brothers — one leading India and the other leading Bihar. They will continue to lead the country and the state. Senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad has also said that there is no vacancy for the chief minister’s post. We nominated Nitish Kumar as CM even when we had a majority. The Opposition is trying to create a false narrative, but it won’t succeed.

Q : The INDIAN bloc has nominated Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate.

A: They have chosen the biggest fraud to lead them. Tejashwi Yadav is an accused in the IRCTC hotel scam case. Several CBI cases have been registered against him, and properties worth around Rs 8,500 crore belonging to him have been seized by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The related documents have already been submitted in court. He has been addicted to corruption since childhood. He should first clear himself of these charges.

Q: How do you see Tejashwi’s ambitious welfare promises?

A: People do not believe in false promises. What you deliver on the ground establishes your credibility. Nitish Kumar has been fulfilling his promises for the past 20 years.

Q: So far, the NDA has not announced its agenda.

A: For the past six months, we have been sharing our vision for the development of Bihar on various occasions. We have promised to make Bihar free from the perennial flood problem within the next five years. Bihar is set to make a leap in electricity generation and will soon begin exporting power. It is moving towards becoming a major renewable energy hub. We have already announced capital expenditure worth over Rs 200 crore. Key investment areas include infrastructure, power, renewable energy, and manufacturing. The government is also actively working to develop IT hubs in the state. Over the past few years, Bihar’s agriculture growth rate has been around 14–15 per cent, and it is the only state to have achieved double-digit GDP growth. Now we can say that the foundation is ready, and Bihar is poised to take a major leap forward.

Q: Even after 20 years of NDA rule, you are saying that only the foundation is ready.

A: If you look at it in totality, there was nothing when the first NDA government was formed in 2005 — no electricity, roads, schools, colleges, basic infrastructure, or law and order. The first decade was dedicated to correcting the misdeeds of the previous regime and building essential infrastructure. Now, we have reached a level where we can attract industries and think of collateral development.

Q: The decision to give Rs 10,000 each to 1.4 crore women has been termed by the Opposition as a bribe just before the polls.

A: That is not true. This is another step towards women’s empowerment. It was planned much earlier, around February-March, and provisions were made for it in the state budget. Since there were a huge number of applicants, over 1.4 crore, the distribution process took time.

Q: Prashant Kishor recently alleged that the BJP has intimidated Jan Suraaj party candidates.

A: They are a frustrated lot, there is nothing to say. No one can intimidate anyone in Bihar. If Lalu Yadav could not intimidate his rivals, who else can? We are living proof. We fought him politically at the peak of the Lalu-Rabri regime and won.

Q: Will Chirag Paswan’s return to the NDA impacts performance?

A: Of course. A united NDA means a lot. We saw this during the Lok Sabha elections, when we won 30 out of 40 seats, despite the Opposition’s false narrative that the Constitution would be changed and reservations scrapped. In the Assembly elections, there is no such narrative. People have realised those were lies. With Chirag Paswan back in the alliance, our vote share will cross 54 per cent. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, a margin of just 0.03 per cent made a major difference, with the NDA winning 12 seats more than the Mahagathbandhan. If we add LJP (Ram Vilas) votes this time, the Opposition will not win more than 25 seats, just like in 2010.