Bihar BJP chief dares alliance govt to hold Assembly polls

Newly appointed Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai today accused the Nitish Kumar-led grand secular alliance government of falsely claiming credit for the centrally-funded developmental schemes.
Rai also dared the Grand Alliance to hold elections to test poll waters in the state.
"Today my confidence is like that of Himalaya. I dare the Grand Secular Alliance government to hold elections in Bihar if it wants to test its political ground in the state. The Alliance will bite dust at the hands of the NDA and the BJP," Rai said while addressing workers at a function organised to welcome him at the party office here.

The Grand Alliance had won the elections as they misled the people, Rai alleged saying "We will win elections as today we have the name and work of Narendra Modi."
Rai, a Lok Sabha MP from Ujiarpur constituency, claimed the party would win 40 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2019 elections and would form the government in Bihar after the 2020 Assembly polls.
The state BJP chief, who represented Hajipur Assembly constituency four times, criticised the Bihar government for its failure to utilise central funds.

"The state government talks of seven resolves. I challenge the government to show any seven schemes which is fully funded by the state government," Rai said.

Prominent leaders among those who greeted Rai as the new party president in Bihar included Sushil Kumar Modi, Prem Kumar, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, outgoing party chief Mangal Pandey, Nand Kishore Yadav, Arun Sinha, Ashwini Choubey, Bihar BJP youth wing chief Rajesh Verma and others.
Rai recalled his long association with senior party leaders and assured the workers to work shoulder to shoulder with them.
In his speech, Sushil Modi said the party leadership has appointed a youth and energetic man to the post of Bihar BJP chief who has also got the credit of strengthening the roots of RSS, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the party in Vaishali district.

Terming it as a mere coincidence, Bihar BJP outgoing chief Mangal Pandey said that he took over the reins of the party's youth wing in Bihar from Nityanand Rai and today Rai was taking reins of Bihar BJP from him.
Party president Amit Shah has appointed a very efficient captain and "We all are confident of forming our party's government in Bihar under in Rai's leadership," Pandey said.