'Glorious' Bihar now in tatters because of 'jungle raj': Amit Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah reminded the people of Bihar of the 'damage' that had been done in the state in the 25 years of reign by the duo of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, saying the once glorious and historically rich state was now lying in tatters because of 'jungle raj'.

"Want to remind you this is the same Bihar that once upon a time ruled India. It was the center of education, history and music. Look at what has happed to the land of Chandragupta, Samudragupta, Chanakya and Buddha. I am saddened by what has happened to this once glorious state," Shah said while addressing a rally here.

He asserted that a BJP 'tsunami' awaits Bihar and added that the verdict of the polls would see the saffron party taking root in the state.

Training his guns on Nitish and Lalu, Shah said that the duo went on a rampage for 25 years and destroyed the state.

"Bihar has not forgotten Lalu's 15 years of jungle raj. When Nitish was on our side, we offered a mandate of development to the people here but he had more nefarious plans in his mind and the temptation of becoming the Prime Minister surpassed his need towards your development," Shah said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier lashed out at Nitish for being arrogant enough to reject the special package.

Elections for the 243-member Bihar Assembly will be held in five phases between October 12 and November 5.

The counting of votes will take place on November 8.