NDA lead campaigner Narendra Modi, campaigning in Jamui in Bihar on 4th April, invoked the legacies of the ancient kingdoms of Pataliputra and Magadha and of emperor Chandragupta Maurya to bolster his supposed policy of “thrashing enemies inside their homes.”
“This Bharat is the same Bharat of the great Pataliputra, Magadh and Chandragupta Maurya. Aaj ka Bharat ghar me ghus kar maarta hai (Today’s Bharat thrashes them inside their homes). Today’s Bharat shows the way to the world,” were Modi’s words, as per a report in The Telegraph.
NDA partner Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United), who was present at Modi’s Jamui event, spoke of the poor law-and-order situation in Bihar during RJD rule between 1990 and 2005. “Nobody could venture out in the evenings. They (Lalu Prasad and son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav) indulge in tall talk today. They got 15 years to rule, but nothing (good) happened in Bihar. We did so much work when we got the opportunity after them,” Kumar said.
Bihar goes to polls on 19th April and NDA partner Lok Janshakti Party is contesting from Jamui. Modi and his ‘Number 2’ Amit Shah will address 16 and 23 rallies respectively in the eastern state. BJP swept 39 out of 40 MP seats in the state in 2019, when Modi addressed 11 meetings and Shah 18.