Being accused of having kept Bihar in “dark-ages” for 15 years by political opponents, the RJD is to roll out an aggressive public exercise to showcase party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s achievements with the Railways and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh’s feat for having spearheaded NREGA across the country. RJD leaders have been told to hit campaign trail with the twin success stories of the party leaders to blunt JD(U)-BJP attacks in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
“The success story of the Indian Railways under the leadership of Laluji was appreciated world over. We have to communicate to the people that what Laluji did with the Railways could also be replicated for the development of the state. Our party will make all efforts to ensure that the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar does not claim that only he can bring development to the state,” stated a senior RJD functionary. The party is also asking its leaders to project the success of the NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) for having been implemented by the RJD MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.
“All over the country, the Congress is making attempts to reap the dividend of the success of the NREGA, while the fact remains that all the work under the scheme had been done when Mr Singh was the Union rural development minister in the UPA-I,” added the party leader. The party leaders are also being told to project the achievements of the RJD MP from Buxar Jagadanand Singh, who as the Bihar finance minister in 2005 had presented a surplus budget for the state, which is being stated to be a rare distinction. The RJD is faced with the challenge in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections with the prospect of the ruling JD (U)-BJP combine launching aggressive campaign against Mr Yadav for having taken the state into deep poverty, with law and order having taken the heavy toll.
Mr Yadav on his part is making efforts to tell the people that he is a changed man and his earlier image was due to his association with people who have already quit the party. To counter the charges of collapse of law and order situation under the rule of his party, Mr Yadav has stated that he would not be giving party tickets in the Assembly elections to those having any criminal record.