Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday heaped praises on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav for putting up a spirited fight in the Bihar polls even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance returned to power in the state. In an editorial, the Marathi daily said Bihar has seen the rise of a young leader in him.
The RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats. The RJD-led alliance won 110 seats while the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 125.
“Tejashwi has not lost. Merely losing an election does not mean defeat...[Prime Minister] Narendra Modi called him the prince of the jungle raj, while [chief minister] Nitish Kumar made an emotional appeal to voters saying it was his last election. But Tejashwi focused on the issues of development, employment, health, education in the poll campaign,” the Sena said.
Also Read: Full coverage of Bihar assembly election 2020
The Sena referred to the BJP’s promise of making Nitish Kumar the chief minister even though his Janata Dal (United), or JD (U), bagged fewer seats. “BJP leader Amit Shah announced that Nitish Kumar would become the chief minister even if his party gets a smaller number of seats. But a similar assurance was given to the Shiv Sena during the 2019 assembly polls in Maharashtra, which was not honoured and the state witnessed political turmoil. If Nitish Kumar becomes the chief minister despite winning fewer number seats, its credit should go to the Shiv Sena.”
The editorial cited Sena ally Congress’s below-par performance for hurting Tejashwi Yadav’s chance of becoming the chief minister. “Bihar has seen the rise of the Tejashwi era. He single-handedly fought the people in power. It would be an injustice to Tejashwi to say that Modi’s charisma worked in Bihar. The election, which looked one-sided initially, became a closely fought contest due to Tejashwi.”
{{/usCountry}}The editorial cited Sena ally Congress’s below-par performance for hurting Tejashwi Yadav’s chance of becoming the chief minister. “Bihar has seen the rise of the Tejashwi era. He single-handedly fought the people in power. It would be an injustice to Tejashwi to say that Modi’s charisma worked in Bihar. The election, which looked one-sided initially, became a closely fought contest due to Tejashwi.”
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