NDA will not win more than 30 seats, Lalu claims

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and RJD President Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said the BJP-led NDA had no chance to win in the Bihar assembly election.
Addressing a joint press conference with Lalu and Congress’ senior leader CP Joshi at the CM residence, Nitish said, There was no vacancy for them (BJP) in Bihar while the RJD president claimed the NDA would be able to win even 30 seats, out of total 243 seats in Bihar assembly.
“If BJP along with 'masaum vaigyanik' (read LJP leader Ramvilas Paswan) wins 30 seats I think they will be lucky,” Lalu said when asked to react on the BJP’s target of winning 185 seats in the forthcoming assembly polls.
Though Nitish did not talk in terms of numbers but said, “We contested separately during 2014 Lok Sabha elections due to which BJP took advantage. Now, we are together hence they stand no chance. ‘Unke liye vacancy kahan hai? (Does any vacancy exist for them?)”
RJD chief said, all tricks of Narendra Modi to befool people would fail this time because Lalu and Nitish have come together.
Lalu also said that whatever barbs he and Nitish used against each other in previous days, were happened unintentionally in their “baal kaal” (childhood phase). “We talked against each other in Baal Kaal (childhood phase) and have forgotten all those things now,” Prasad said in reply to a question triggering a peal of laughter even from CM Nitish Kumar sitting by his side at the dais.
“Several things come and pass away during Baal Kaal. What we said or did not say about each other all these are matter of past and happened in Baal Kaal. Now we have come together to protect the country from being divided by communal forces like BJP and RSS,” RJD president said in a bid to justify his latest re-grouping with Nitish and his party.
Making a mockery of BJP’s “Parivartan” rallies and raths, Nitish asked as to what sorts of ‘Parivartan’ (change) they want in Bihar. “Are their parivartan rallies and raths meant to stop the ongoing development works in Bihar? Do they want to dig out smooth roads or uproot electric poles?” Nitish questioned.
Bihar CM also said that the PM Modi should tell people what his government has done in more than one year of his rule the centre. “He (Modi) had promised to ‘decriminalise’ Indian politics within one year of coming to power.
But what happened. Did he decriminalised BJP even after 15 months? I have given him a challenge not to give ticket to any person with criminal background in the Bihar poll and we will also follow,” Nitish said. Nitish also raised the ‘Chhati Tor Denge’ (break the chest) remarks against him by the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) MP Arun Kumar. “Prime Minister during his Gaya rally addressed the same Arun Kumar as his "dear friend" which proves that chest breaking assertions had PM’s approval,” Nitish said. He also alleged that the BJP has “perverted” political discourse in Bihar.