Dwarka (New Delhi): Seeking to give an edge to his party's election campaign in Delhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today took a swipe at BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, saying only a person who can take everybody together can run the nation.
He also reached out to voters from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh saying that "entire Delhi will come to halt if the outsiders stop working."
Kumar's party JD (U), which is in power in Bihar, is contesting 27 of the 70 assembly seats in this election.
The Bihar Chief Minister is on a two-day visit to Delhi. Kumar addressed three election rallies in Dwarka, Sangam Vihar and Okhla today and will be addressing three more rallies in Kiradi Burari and Ghoda on Sunday, party general secretary Javed Raza said.
Most of the rallies of Kumar have been planned in areas which have significant presence of Poorvanchali voters (those hailing from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh).
"Those who call the outsiders a burden should know that Delhi belongs to all and everybody has equal right on it. They should understand that these people are not a burden but instead they are carrying the burden. If these people stop carrying this burden for one day, entire Delhi will halt.
"These are the people, who play a key role in constructing the grand buildings in Delhi but they are living without basic amenities," he said.
Hitting out both at BJP and Congress, he said that if Delhi has not developed properly, "both Congress and BJP are equally responsible for it as while the BJP is occupying the local bodies, Congress has the state government, which also has a responsibility to fulfill."
Without naming Modi, Kumar, who is a known detractor of the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate said, "our country is inhabited by people from varoious caste, creed and religion. Only a person who can carry along with him all sections of the society can run this country. The policies, which are being sought to be thrust on the nation are not a good omen."
Appealing to people to ensure the victory of his party candidate Pramod Kumar Sharma, the Bihar Chief Minister, who has been seeking to present the Bihar model of development as an alternative to Modi's Gujarat model, also said that the nation will not develop truly unless the backward states progress.
Those who are contesting elections from JDU) this time include five ex-MLAs from various parties like Congress and four sitting councillors.
Former Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal, who had first won the seat on Janata Dal ticket in 1993 and then joined H D Devegowda-led JD (S) and Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP is this time contesting the seat on JD(U) ticket.
Delhi has fairly good population of migrants from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Kumar has been reaching out to them in their rallies.
Addressing the Adhikar rally in Bihar in March this year, Kumar had suggested that his support would be crucial for formation of next government at the Centre and JD(U), which was then part of BJP-led NDA, was not averse to exploring other tie-ups.
JD(U) believes that winning a few seats in Delhi would give it an edge in the national capital.
Rajya Sabha MP of the party Sabir Ali was some time back made the party's incharge of Delhi. The party hopes to make some wave among the Poorvanchali voters (settlers from eastern India) and minorities thanks to Kumar's well-cultimated image of anti-communalism force.
Kumar and JD (U) chief Sharad Yadav had also attended a "convention against communalism" initiated by the Left parties in the national capital on October 30, which was attended by an array of non-Congress and non-BJP parties giving speculation to the formation of a Third Front.
JD(U) had walked out of NDA protesting against the elevation of Modi as BJP's campaign committee chief then, which was interpreted by Kumar as a precursor to the BJP naming the Gujarat Chief Minister its Prime Ministerial candidate, which finally happened.
Kumar's rally coincided with Modi's campaign for BJP in Delhi.
