The dust from the chopper landing hid Sushil Modi from the crowds and before the air cleared, he was on board an open jeep beginning a hectic day of campaigning. The first of chhota Modi’s three roadshows for the day was in Arwal, after which he would go to Gaya and end the day in Aurangabad. Modi is one of the BJP’s most senior and astute politicians in Bihar.
Speaking exclusively to The Quint, Modi clarified why the BJP has not announced a chief ministerial candidate.
I am not the only leader, there are more than a dozen leaders in BJP who are more competent than me and have more experience. It is not a question of chief ministerial candidate, people are more concerned about which alliance will govern in Bihar. They have seen Lalu, Nitish and Congress, this time they want to give BJP a chance. So declaring a candidate is not important.
When we probed why Modi doesn’t want to lead from the front, pat came the reply:
I am only one among a dozen leaders. This not a one-man show or a one-man party like Lalu and Nitish.
Modi accusing Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar of being a one-man party is only fair, except the Bihar election campaign holds the BJP guilty of being a one or maybe a two-man show too.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah not only dominate the billboards in Patna but are on every pamphlet, board, banner, flag or any other campaign merchandise the BJP is brandishing in every part of Bihar.
He is the Prime Minister of the country so naturally the face of the campaign. It is not a one-man party like Lalu or Nitish, they have nobody else to campaign. Who is the second man in RJD? Who is the second man in JDU? We have such a good number of cabinet ministers and this is an all-India party so all our leaders are campaigning in Bihar.
A lot of senior BJP leaders and cabinet ministers have set up base in Patna and are canvassing for the party across the length and breadth of the state. Given the tempo and extent of BJP’s campaign in Bihar, the opposition has levied a charge of it being a party nervous from the defeat in Delhi. Modi disagreed. He claimed the BJP is confident of a victory.
Every election is different. It has nothing to do with Delhi, Jharkhand or Maharashtra. Each state is unique and the present government in Bihar is facing massive anti-incumbency and after allying with the RJD, they have lost even the moral courage to govern Bihar.
Moral courage aside, the Lalu-Nitish combine, many say, is a formidable caste calculus, but Modi’s parting shot summarised what the BJP is pinning its hope on.
I am sure a large number of people will vote, crossing all caste and creed feelings in Bihar.
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