Tejashwi Yadav, INDIA bloc’s pick for Bihar chief minister, on Friday pledged to make the state “number one” and run a “corruption-free government” if the opposition alliance comes to power.
The RJD leader also promised that he would present a government that would listen to the people's grievances and ensure affordable medicines and jobs for them.
"I have only one dream, to make Bihar number one... Bihar deserves a government that delivers on education, healthcare, employment, irrigation, takes action, and listens to people. We want a Bihar where no one has to go elsewhere for treatment or a job," Tejashwi said while speaking to reporters in Patna.
"If the INDIA bloc comes to power in Bihar, as a CM, I will ensure there will be no crime. I will present a government that will be corruption-free," the former deputy CM added.
Tejashwi also claimed that CM Nitish Kumar will not be made the chief minister if the ruling alliance is again voted to power.
He accused the Centre of shielding corrupt leaders and criminals in Bihar, and asserted that he would present a clean government if the opposition alliance comes to power in the state.
"As a Bihari, I feel anguished that my state is poor, and unemployment, corruption and criminal activities are on the rise. Despite 20 years of NDA rule in Bihar and 11 years at the Centre, the state's per capita income is the lowest and farmers remain poor," Yadav claimed in a rally in Bakhtiyarpur.
He also claimed that Nitish Kumar will "not be made Bihar's CM if the NDA is voted to power".
Notably, the opposition INDIA bloc on Thursday declared Tejashwi its chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar assembly polls, in what is being seen as a last-ditch effort to put an end to squabbles after weeks of intense deliberations and project unity ahead of the elections.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot, who has been in Patna since Wednesday to resolve differences with the Opposition bloc, also said that Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni and leaders from other sections of society will be deputy CMs if the INDIA bloc comes to power in the state, "keeping in mind the complex social structure of Bihar."
Yadav, who, at the age of 35, could become the youngest chief minister of the state if the INDIA bloc came to power, thanked his coalition partners for the trust they have reposed in him and vowed to defeat "the incompetent 20-year-old government, a so-called double engine, of which one engine is corruption and the other is crime."
Meanwhile, Tejashwi also hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “jungle raj” remark against the RJD, questioning what action he took against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, noting that Modi himself had cited 55 cases against the NDA ally.
"PM Modi himself counted 55 cases against Nitish Kumar but what actions have been taken against him? Jungle raj is where criminals are protected and supported and not a single day goes by in Bihar when rape, murder, corruption, and other crimes don't happen... They are only misusing government agencies. They set up factories in Gujarat and expect victory in Bihar," Tejashwi said.
Tejashwi's response comes after Modi on Thursday said the people of Bihar will never forget the "misdeeds of Jungle Raj", an apparent reference to the RJD rule, and dubbed the opposition alliance as a "lathbandhan" (a coalition of criminals), whose leaders are out on bail.
The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results set to be announced on November 14.
