BJP will form next government in Bihar: Amit Shah

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will form the next government in Bihar, party chief Amit Shah said here on Tuesday while launching his party's campaign for the state assembly polls scheduled for later this year.

Shah was also supported by union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who said the BJP will form the next government in Bihar with a two-thirds majority.

"BJP is going to form the next government in Bihar. It is clear from the upbeat large gatherings of party booth level workers here," Shah said in his brief speech after formally sounding the BJP's poll bugle in the state.

Shah also targeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, saying that even if they go for a grand alliance of their parties, the BJP will still triumph.

"Zero plus zero hardly makes anything. Nitish and Lalu by joining hands would have no impact on BJP's goal to form the next government in Bihar," Shah said.

Shah said that Nitish Kumar was trying to bring jungle raj again to Bihar but the BJP would not allow it.

He also accused Nitish Kumar of back-stabbing the BJP by ending their 17-year-old alliance in 2013.

"Only a BJP-led government can develop Bihar," he said.

Shah said that at present there are 90 lakh BJP members in the state. He urged the BJP members to reach out to each and every household in both rural and urban areas to counter mispropaganda by party rivals.

"Opposition parties across the country are creating confusion and mispropagating Modi government's land bill. I can assure people that not an inch of land would be handed over to corporate houses. Land will be utilised for the development of rural people and national development," Shah said.

Rajnath Singh, in his address at the rally,said the BJP will form the next government in Bihar."It is certain now," he said.

Singh targeted Nitish Kumar's government for destroying students' lives by failing to stop cheating in examinations.

Meanwhile, unhappy over being sidelined in the BJP, Bollywood actor-turned-politician and party MP from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat Shatrughan Sinha did not attend the rally.

All BJP leaders including six union ministers in the Narendra Modi-led government to MPs, party national spokesman, party's Bihar in-charge and former ministers and legislators attended the rally.

Another BJP MP Ashwani Kumar Choubey returned from the rally ground on being denied a place on the dais, where Shah and other top party leaders were sitting.

"Choubey was informed by security personnel that his name was not in the list of people who were allowed on the dais and that angered him so much that he returned before Shah's speech," a party leader close to Choubey said.