Nitish slams poll surveys showing BJP's surge in LS polls

Patna: Miffed by survey reports suggesting that JD(U) may perform poorly in general elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today slammed pollsters for projecting NDA's impressive performance at hustings, saying it amounted to nullifying the election process itself."If that's what is going to be the outcome (BJP-led NDA's imminent victory in the general elections), then what is the need for holding elections," he said at the JD(U)'s 12th and final 'Sankalp rally' at Deedarganj on the outskirts of the state capital.Mocking the reports further, Kumar said "If BJP thinks that it has won the general elections on the basis of the opinion polls then what's the need to contest the polls altogether?.....It should go ahead and form the next government at the Centre.""Modi should go ahead and take oath as the Prime Minister straightaway if he and BJP think that they have won the general elections on the basis of the survey reports," the Chief Minister said.Kumar lashed out at pollsters for suggesting that his government in Bihar was popular even today to the extent that 68 per cent people have reposed faith in it, but yet they will vote for the BJP-led alliance in the general elections."How come it's possible that the people surveyed by the pollsters are happy with this government's performance and yet they desire to vote for another alliance at hustings? The assessment is an outright contradiction," he said.Kumar also expressed unhappiness with the local media for giving inadequate converge to him and activities of his party of late and said that the JD(U)'s eleven Sankalp rallies held so far had not been reported adequately."I ask you (local media) if I or my government are not visible in Bihar then, who else are?" he questioned.Holding his party's final 'Sankalp rally' in the state capital, which is known to be the political fort of his erstwhile ally, the Chief Minister sought to turn the table on BJP over its "betrayal" allegation following JD(U) parting ways with it last year after 17 years of association to protest Gujarat Chief Minister's elevation as the face of the party for general elections."Let me say it once and for all that it was not me who betrayed the BJP, but I was betrayed by the then ally and its leadership," Kumar said."I was assured by the top BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari on the issue of Modi's elevation after I had expressed my reservations about this development," he said, adding that once the BJP leadership failed to keep their words, he was left with no option but to part ways.The Chief Minister for the first time said that it was his erstwhile deputy Sushil Kumar Modi who had asked him to meet Gadkari for assurance that the Gujarat Chief Minister would not be promoted as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate so as to keep the alliance in Bihar going.But these top BJP leaders not only failed to keep their words to him, but sent message that they had failed in their endeavour to stop Modi's stride in the party, Kumar said.He said once he saw the writing on the wall he was left with no option but to part ways with the then ally even though the state BJP leaders did not want the alliance to collapse in Bihar.He said that he was steadfast in opposing the rise of a "controversial and divisive" person (Modi) as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate and wanted the erstwhile ally to select a candidate who believed in inclusive growth and cared for development of backward states, besides was a believer in secular ethos, but it was not to be.The Chief Minister also took potshot at another political archrival - the RJD - for pressurizing the UPA government to stall the process for grant of special status to Bihar for political expediency.If the process for grant of special status to Bihar was underway in right earnest till late last year and a committee headed by the union finance secretary was slated to meet on November 26 last to work out the modalities on the basis of the Raghuram Rajan panel report, but the said meeting was aborted at the last minute at the best of the UPA government's ally in Bihar, he said referring to the RJD.It was for political expediency that the RJD got the special status proposal shelved by the centre, the Chief Minister said.Vowing to keep alive his government's struggle to get special status for Bihar, Kumar urged the electorate to strengthen his hands in the parliament by electing the JD(U) candidates in the ensuing general elections otherwise his government will be ousted by his detractors if they came to power.Referring to the Gujarat Chief Minister, he said that if the former came to power at the centre then his party will hatch one conspiracy after another to oust his government.The senior JD(U) leader harped on the Gujarat finance minister Nitin Patel's controversial remarks saying that the migrant labourers from Bihar were responsible for growth of poverty rate in his state and charged the latter with insulting the people of Bihar."Would you have attained development and economic growth without sweat and blood of the Bihari labourers?" Kumar asked and charged the Gujarat Minister with insulting the migrant labourers.He also questioned the Bihar BJP leaders' for their silence over insult to Bihar and its people by a government ruled by their party.