Will AAP's Delhi Defeat Spell Trouble For INDIA Bloc In Bihar Polls? — Tejashwi Yadav Says...

Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday dismissed suggestions that the BJP's stupendous victory in the Delhi assembly polls will have an impact in Bihar where elections are due later this year. The former deputy chief minister of Bihar also said that a return to power "after nearly 26 years" made it incumbent upon the BJP to fulfil the promises made to the people of Delhi.

Yadav, who is now the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, briefly replied to questions from journalists about the verdict in Delhi where INDIA bloc partner Aam Aadmi Party was voted out of power. "In a democracy, the people are supreme (janta maalik hai). The BJP has been voted to power after nearly 26 years. Hopefully, promises made to the people will be fulfilled and there will not be empty rhetoric (jumlebaazi)," Yadav said.

The RJD leader, whose party has won the highest number of seats in the last two assembly polls in Bihar, was also asked about the claim of the BJP and its allies that upcoming elections in the state will benefit the NDA as there was a momentum in favour of the ruling coalition.

The young leader remarked dismissively, "Bihar is Bihar. It needs to be understood (Bihar Bihar hai... samajhna padega)." The NDA is headed in Bihar by JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar who has been the chief minister since 2005, except for a brief period when the reins were handed over to Jitan Ram Manjhi. The tenure of Kumar, who will run for a fifth consecutive term in office this year, has also been marked by two short-lived alliances with the RJD.