PM Modi calls Tejashwi Yadav 'Yuvaraj' of 'Jungle Raj'

He asked voters to view the Assembly polls as 'an opportunity to re-elect those who pulled Bihar out of darkness'

The war of words during the Bihar Assembly election got shriller on Wednesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed Tejashwi Yadav, the Mahagatbandhan Chief Ministerial candidate, as the “Yuvraj of Jungle Raj.”

“If you want good governance to continue, prefer our Chief Ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar and don’t get carried away by the lofty promises of ‘Jungle Raj ke Yuvraj’,” said Modi, without naming the RJD leader.

Modi on Wednesday addressed three rallies for the NDA candidates at Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, and Patna on a day when polling for 71 Assembly constituencies, in other parts of the State, was going on.

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"Can anything be expected from the Yuvaraj of jungle raj? He ought to be evaluated on the basis of a track record about which the people know much better than I do," said Modi, without mentioning by name the RJD or Yadav, the younger son and heir apparent of party president Lalu Prasad.

In an apparent reference to Yadav's alluring promise of 10 lakh permanent government jobs, if his party was voted to power, the Prime Minister said, "Forget about jobs in the public sector. Even private companies giving jobs will flee."

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"Companies will shut down their offices and run away. Extortion calls will be made by those patronised by the party which has copyright over kidnappings," he said, apparently referring to the 15 years of the RJD rule when the party in power often faced accusations of being in cahoots with criminal gangs.

"The elections are an opportunity to re-elect those who pulled Bihar out of the darkness. The Centre has many plans for Bihar which will bring more peace and prosperity with Nitish Kumar at the helm in the state," the Prime Minister said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi too rooted for the Mahagatbandhan nominees and reminded the voters at Valmiki Nagar in Western Champaran about the tall promises made by PM Modi during the last election.

“Last time Modi ji promised you to restart the closed sugar mills and assured you that he would have tea with you with the sugar produced in these sugar mills. ‘Kuch nahi kiya. Sirf khokhle vadey kiye’ (He did nothing. Only made hollow promises),” said Rahul.

The former Congress president admitted that his party was miles behind the BJP in indulging in propaganda. “Jhoot bolne mein hum unka muqabla nahi kar sakte... (We cannot match them (the BJP) in speaking lies) and the way they spread falsehood,” conceded Rahul, while canvassing for the Mahagatbandhan nominees.

Modi, on the other hand, showered praise on Nitish and lauded him for power connectivity in rural areas. “Nitish Kumar, in his 15 years of good governance, has provided you road connectivity as well as rural electrification,” said Modi.

This was in sharp contrast to the same Modi, who, in 2015, had lambasted Nitish (who was then not part of the NDA) for doing nothing in Bihar in terms of rural electrification and presiding over the State with 33 scams.

However, on Wednesday, Modi targeted Tejashwi Yadav and reminded the voters of the previous RJD regime. Besides, he raked up the emotive issue of Ram Temple.

Rahul, on the other hand, raised the issue of migrants and job loss. “Modi promised two crore jobs every year. But crores of employed persons lost their jobs this year itself. And when Tejashwi has promised 10 lakh jobs, the BJP too has assured 19 lakh jobs. Had Modi Ji fulfilled his promise of providing ‘two crore jobs every year’, this ‘10 lakh job offer’ would not have become a major poll plank this election,” averred Rahul.