'Gathbandhan' wants to take Bihar into era of 'lantern', BJP into LED bulbs: Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah on Monday said 'Gathbandhan' (grand alliance) wants to take Bihar back into the era of 'lantern' while the BJP wants to take the state ahead into the era of 'LED bulb'.

"The 'Gathbandhan' is taking Bihar back into the era of 'lantern' while we are taking you into the era of LED bulbs. They want 'jungle raj' while we want 'Janta raj', they want loot order of 'Lalu raj' while we want law and order," said Shah addressing an election rally here.

"Bihar has suffered a lot. Bihar has seen the 'jungle raj' of Lalu and Rabri. After Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi came, it started walking on the track of development. After Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, the unprecedented development occurred and the local train was converted into a high-speed express train. This all happened due to the 'double engine' government," he added.

The Congress, which ruled the state for several years, lost power to Janata Dal (United), which formed the government in 1990 under the leadership of Lalu Prasad Yadav. Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi ruled for almost 15 years before losing the battle to Nitish Kumar in 2005. However, Kumar's JDU and RJD fought the last assembly polls together and won. Later, Kumar joined hands with the BJP, which is yet to form the government on its own in the state.

Five parliamentary constituencies in the state -- Hajipur, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Madhubani -- are undergoing voting today. The remaining 16 seats (8 seats each) will go to polls on May 12 and May 19 during the last phase of elections. 40 Lok Sabha seats are at stake in Bihar. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.