As Bihar went to polls in the first phase on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Araria, intensified his “Jungle Raj” attack on the RJD and urged voters to turn out in large numbers. The state recorded a voter turnout of 27.65%, till 11am. Key leaders including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan cast their votes at their respective polling booths.
During his address, the Prime Minister launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), reiterating his “Jungle Raj” allegation. He said that those who ruled Bihar in the past “considered themselves the ultimate authority”, adding that, “My only remote control is the people of Bihar.”
Modi alleged that the social justice foundation laid in earlier decades was derailed during the 1990s under RJD rule. He said that “katta, katuta, kusanskar, corruption and kushasan” became the identity of that period, which he described as “Bihar’s misfortune”. He further claimed that the “report card of development” during that time was “zero”.
Highlighting alleged lack of development in infrastructure, education and health sectors during RJD’s tenure, the Prime Minister said, “How many expressways were built in 15 years of Jungle Raj? The number is zero.” He added that no new medical colleges, IIT, IIM or National Law University were established in that period, and that an entire generation’s future suffered as a result. Modi credited development in these sectors to the NDA governments after 2004.
PM Modi also touched upon the issue of illegal infiltration, stating that the NDA government was identifying and removing infiltrators, while accusing the RJD and Congress of “protecting them”. Modi claimed such infiltration affects farmers, impacts job opportunities and asked the crowd whether “infiltrators should be removed or not”.
The Prime Minister targeted the Opposition over what he called disrespect towards cultural and religious beliefs, saying that they “mocked Chhath Puja, Ram Mandir and Kumbh”. He questioned why opposition leaders stayed away from the Ram Temple inauguration, alleging that they were “under pressure from vote-bank politics”. Modi further said that the Congress and RJD alliance was internally unstable, asserting that the two parties “will be at each other’s throats once the election results are out”.
