Bihar poll outcome will rattle BJP-led govt at Centre, says Akhilesh Yadav

Akhilesh Yadav said NDA leaders were celebrating the GST rate cuts, but they should tell the people who set high rates in the first place, leading to inflation

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday claimed the results of the Bihar elections will shake the foundation of the BJP-led government at the Centre.

Addressing an election rally in support of the INDIA bloc candidates in Purnea district, Yadav said that just like the people of UP defeated the BJP in Awadh, the people of Bihar will vote the party out of Magadh.

"The results of the Bihar elections will rattle the BJP-led government at the Centre. The government there is not going to last long," he claimed.

The allusion was to the BJP's dependence on Bihar CM Nitish Kumar-led JD(U), which, along with Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, provided the much-needed support to form the third Narendra Modi government after last year's Lok Sabha elections.

Yadav said it is up to the people of Bihar to not just "improve the future of the state, but also the entire nation".

"Just like UP's voters defeated the BJP in Awadh, the people of Bihar will defeat them in Magadh," he claimed, referring to the ruling party's setback in Uttar Pradesh in last year's Lok Sabha polls, which is believed to be the cause why it could not secure a majority on its own like the previous two elections.

The Samajwadi Party clinched 37 of UP's 80 Lok Sabha seats, while the BJP bagged 33.

Yadav said NDA leaders were celebrating the GST rate cuts, but they should tell the people who set high rates in the first place, leading to inflation.

"They are talking about migration, but the BJP itself is responsible for migration from Bihar. The NDA parties should know that the people of Bihar will ensure the migration of the BJP from the state this time," he said.

Yadav also alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre was "hampering" India's trade prospects and global relations.

"Even the US, which used to stand by us, is now estranged. In fact, many of our allies oppose us," he claimed.

Yadav said the BJP is contesting the assembly polls in Bihar with its "B and P teams".

"In each election, the BJP operates with a B team, but in Bihar, it even has a P team," he said, in an apparent reference to Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor.