Bihar polls: NDA eyeing division in Muslim-Yadav vote bank

The ruling alliance at the Centre is hopeful of getting a considerable chunk of EBC votes as backward classes are no more a monolithic block and also the fact that the Prime Minister himself belongs to EBC.

"Upper castes do not see eye to eye with Nitish Kumar while the most backward classes do not like Lalu Prasad. Where is their vote base?" he said when told that the combined vote share of JD-U and RJD could make it difficult for NDA in Bihar.

Paswan also countered Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of financial package for Bihar and claimed NDA government will soon be announcing 'One Rank' One Pension' to ex-servicemen as was done in case of special package for the poll-bound state.

Asked about the coming together of Kejriwal and Kumar, Paswan said, "Nitish Kumar has lost confidence and hence calling people from outside. That does not work in Bihar. People in the state will listen to the voice of insiders not outsiders. There will be no impact of this on election results in Bihar.

"All this is an attempt by Kumar to wash away the stain that has come to him after allying with Lalu Prasad, who is a convict in fodder scam".


Another NDA minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier taken a dig at Kejriwal asking him how will the AAP leader justify his backing to Nitish Kumar who is in alliance with Lalu and Congress.

Countering Rahul's attack that the Prime Minister was in the habit of making promises like announcement of a Rs 1.25 lakh crore package for Bihar and saying it would go the OROP way, Paswan said, "Implementing OROP is the commitment of the government.

"It will be resolved once the technical problems are sorted out. As Bihar got the gift of special package, similarly OROP will also be announced soon."

Expressing surprise at the Congress vice-president's attack on the government on OROP issue, he asked "if it was so easy to implement, why did Congress not implement it."

Rejecting Opposition attack that the package announcement for Bihar was just another promise by Modi, Paswan said, "Prime Minister not just made an announcement of package. It has also been explained how much money will be spent in what heads. Those who have to make allegation will any how make it."

Rejecting Nitish pitch for a special state status, Paswan said the Bihar Chief Minister is now left with no issue after the Prime Minister's announcement of the Rs 1.25 lakh crore package and the subsequent decision of the government's decision to give a 30 per cent income tax rebate to new manufacturing plants and machinery to be set up in 21 'backward' districts of Bihar.

"Nitish Kumar headed the committee that was supposed to submit a report on the special status state for Bihar when he was a Union Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpyee government. He did not submit the report then in time even as Vajpayee was keen to decide the matter. Kumar should be asked why he did not submit the report then," said Paswan, who was also a Union Minister in Vajpayee government.

The RJD, who is now in alliance with Kumar, had said in past that it was the then Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who was first to demand special status for Bihar in 2002 but Nitish opposed this demand to deny credit to her.