Our sons and daughters are not our political heirs: Radha Mohan Singh

Five-time MP from East Champaran and Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, 69, is again contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the constituency. But he has hinted this will be his last election. Singh tells Prerna Katiyar that older politicians should make way for younger leadership. Edited excerpts:

Now that Nitish Kumar is back in the NDA, how do you think the coalition will perform in Bihar?
Let us take the example of Motihari: in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP got 4 lakh votes and the JDU polled 1.28 lakh votes. The picture for entire Bihar become clear from here. In 2014, BJP won 32 seats. With Nitish by our side, we will win 40 out of 40 in 2019.


How do you see Akash Singh, whose father is a Rajya Sabha MP (Congress), as an opponent? He is also fighting from East Champaran, on a Rashtriya Lok Samata Party ticket.

His father Akhilesh fought and lost against me in the past. If he was wise, he would have given the ticket to a party member who has worked in Motihari. Their own party members are saying the seat has been sold for the third time. The Congress and the RLSP are spending a lot of money but are bound to lose.

PM KISAN was introduced as a flagship scheme of the BJP. Do you think its popularity has waned after the Congress’ promised NYAY?
As far as the Congress and its schemes are concerned, people of the country know how the great grandfather ( Jawaharlal Nehru), grandmother (Indira Gandhi), mother (Sonia Gandhi), son (Rahul Gandhi) and chachas have duped the nation. In contrast, our PM has delivered what he promised. The benefits of PM KISAN have reached the accounts of lakhs of farmers. One family ruled on the talks of asha (hope) and only worked for strengthening their own dynasty. We, on the other hand, have already given pension to farmers, small shop owners and the labourers.

Karnataka, West Bengal, MP, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Lakshadweep are yet to send the list of beneficiaries for PM KISAN. What is the Centre doing about it?
People will teach them a lesson. People are angry in West Bengal. Be it any scheme by the Centre, they have stopped it from reaching the public. But people are not fools. They will face public anger in the elections.

Reports also show that by the end of Lok Sabha polls, only 38% farmers will benefit from PM KISAN due to lack of digitised land records.
PM KISAN in not restricted to elections. It is for the benefit of farmers and not meant for electoral benefits. It is the first scheme that has benefitted such a high number in such a short span of time.

Will minorities vote for the BJP?
We do not give tickets on the basis of caste or religion. Work has been done uniformly for the benefit of all. Gas connection or PM KISAN or Ayushman Bharat or PM Awas Yojana were not implemented on a discriminatory basis. That is why the aam aadmi is saying ab ki baar Modi sarkar and the khas log are talking about giving benefits to a particular caste or religion. In my 50-year political career, I feel proud to say that we did not support any particular religion. Go to Varanasi or Motihari, you will see complete support for the BJP. In the four wards in Motihari, a sizable number of Muslims support us. More importantly, unlike other parties, my son will not be my political heir. Today, I have four MLAs and several other party workers. Anyone of them can rise to a leadership position. We do not make our sons and daughters our political heirs. Even the children here know this. That is why all the communities support us.

Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were denied tickets for the elections. What are your views on this?
Younger leaders should be given an opportunity. This is a healthy step. The example of Nanaji Deskmukh is there for us to emulate. He was a votary of fixing an age limit for a politician. I will be completing 75 years by the next elections. So I will also be not fighting it, in all probability. This way a new leadership will emerge. But unlike our opponents, the new leader will not be my son, at least that I can promise.

With the JDU and the NDA fighting the polls together, how effective will the vote transfer be?
Nitish Kumar has a natural bonding with the BJP. He was with the RJD only for a short time. It was an unnatural alliance. He himself calls it an accident and hence he is back with the BJP. He does not compromise as far as corruption is concerned.

How do you see the fight between (Lalu Prasad’s sons) Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap?
It is their family matter. The mahagathbandhan is not a challenge for us.

Five BJP MPs lost their tickets to the JDU. Will that affect the BJP?
Those who are fighting the elections are getting full cooperation from all the allies. Both the BJP and the JDU are natural allies and have a history of working together. Our MPs are working wholeheartedly to make the NDA candidate win.

Akhilesh Yadav has promised to convert UP from a ‘saand pradesh’ (stray bull state) to a ‘smart pradesh’. What do you have to say to the problem of stray cattle?
Akhilesh was the CM for five years. What steps did he take for the benefit of cattle? People of Bihar and UP know what the Samajwadi Party has not done and what we have. People have suffered their dynastic rule. Several schemes like sexsorted semen project, building of cow shelters and farms will help in the upkeep of cattle.

Why are farmers not prosperous in our country?
Farmers were facing several problems earlier as well. But steps to alleviate their woes have been taken only in the last five years. The results will be obvious in the coming years.