Rajnath Singh wants BJP in full red corridor

NEW DELHI: The BJP's hope of forming the government in Bihar and Jharkhand is shared by the Union home ministry, albeit for a strategic reason. The central government run by the party wants to replace the 'Red Corridor' controlled by Left-wing extremists with a 'BJP Corridor' from Bihar to Chhattisgarh to encircle the Maoists or Naxals.

Bihar and Jharkhand appear to be the biggest roadblocks in implementing Rajnath's Singh aggressive policy against the extremists and the Centre is hoping for a favourable political dispensation in the two states that will allow it to press ahead.

"Just one Naxal has been killed in Bihar in the last 17 months but 86 civilians and security men have been slain by Naxals in the state in the same period. How can such a situation go on? The JD (U) government, be it under Nitish Kumar or Jitan Ram Manjhi, continues to have a soft policy against Left-wing extremists," said a senior home ministry official.

The situation is equally worrisome across the border in Jharkhand, where 152 persons were killed in 2013, making it the worst-affected state ahead of Chhattisgarh.