Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said the state was getting "a lot of support" from the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, and urged people to vote for the BJP-led NDA.
Kumar, who heads the JD(U), also referred to his flip-flops in the past one decade and asserted that his return to the NDA, in January this year, was for good.
"I have been with the BJP for long. We formed government in Bihar, in 2005, together. I may have gone hither and thither a couple of times. But now I am back, for ever", Kumar told a rally in Nawada, where he was canvassing for BJP candidate Vivek Thakur.
He said "What was there in Bihar before we took over? Infrastructure was in a mess. Things began to look up once we took over. Now, we are getting a lot of support from the Centre (Kendra Sarkar ka sahyog bahut zyada hai)".
"I therefore urge you all to vote for the NDA", said Kumar, who, incidentally, was one of the key architects of the anti-BJP INDIA bloc.
Kumar, who has always been careful to project himself as a "secular" leader, also said "so much of Hindu-Muslim clashes Bihar used to witness until we came to power and set things in order. So much was done for the minority community during my tenure. I hope all that will not be forgotten just because I am back with BJP".
The JD(U) president, who has forged short-lived alliances with arch-rival Lalu Prasad's RJD, first in 2015 and then again in 2022, also launched a stinging attack on his ally-turned-adversary.
"He first ruled the state himself and when his own continuance in power became untenable he handed over the reins to his wife", said Kumar, without mentioning Prasad or Rabri Devi by name.
Hurling the charge of nepotism at his arch rival, the JD(U) chief said while "nobody even knows the names of my immediate family members", Prasad had been promoting "wife, sons and daughters".
"Just look at how many family members have enjoyed power and how many have got tickets", said the JD(U) chief, in an oblique reference to the RJD president's sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, who are former ministers, and daughters Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya, who are RJD candidates from Patliputra and Saran respectively.
In an indirect reference to corruption cases against the RJD supremo and his family, Kumar said "They want to enjoy power and pelf. On the other hand, nobody can accuse me of having earned a paisa wrongfully in my 18 years as chief minister and, previously, as a minister in the Union cabinet headed by late Atal Bihari Vajpayee".
Kumar also lashed out at Tejashwi Yadav, his former Deputy whom he had last year virtually declared his successor, for claiming credit for large-scale recruitments in government departments.
"Recruitments were taking place in line with policy decisions taken before he (Tejashwi) arrived on the scene. But he kept talking big so I removed him (hum usko hata diye)", said Kumar.
Yadav had promised "10 lakh government jobs" ahead of the assembly polls in 2020, when the RJD fell short of majority. He has been claiming that during his short stint in power, he made the "tired" (thake hue) chief minister fulfil the promise to the extent it was possible.
Notably, the JD(U) chief had abruptly resigned as the chief minister in January, stripping the RJD and the Congress of power, only to be sworn in again a few hours later, armed with the BJP's support.
Interestingly, Kumar left his residence in Patna in a luxury bus, on which slogans and the poll symbol of JD(U) were painted. The bus has been called 'Nishchay Rath' (a chariot of resolves), in a bid to highlight 'Saat Nishchay', which was Kumar's manifesto in the assembly polls.
Speculations were rife that Kumar could hold a roadshow atop the bus.
Tejashwi Yadav told reporters here that he suspected that JD(U) did not want Kumar to give a speech and make yet another faux pas.
Misa Bharti was more explicit as she said "perhaps, Nitish Kumar will once again seek a four thousand seats for NDA".
The allusion was to a slip of the tongue by Kumar at a recent rally where he had shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
