 "Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Image Courtesy: News18")
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said there is “no place” for Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav or Sonia Gandhi’s son Rahul Gandhi to occupy top political posts, asserting that neither the Chief Minister’s chair in Bihar nor the Prime Minister’s seat in Delhi is vacant.
In an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah said there is no confusion over leadership in the poll-bound state.
“Lalu Yadav wants to see his son Tejashwi as CM and Sonia Gandhi wants Rahul Gandhi to be the PM. Want to tell both of them — no seats are vacant for their sons in either Bihar or Delhi,” said Shah.
Reiterating his stance, Shah added: “Bihar mein na CM ka pad khali hai aur Delhi mein PM ka pad khali hai… yahan Nitish Kumar hain, aur Lalu ji, Sonia ji, wahan PM Modi hain (Neither the Chief Minister’s post in Bihar nor the Prime Minister’s seat in Delhi is vacant. Nitish Kumar is here, and Lalu ji, Sonia ji, PM Modi are there).”
Shah clarified that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is contesting the Bihar assembly elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“There is no confusion. Nitish Kumar is the CM, and the NDA will continue under his leadership,” he said, expressing confidence that the alliance will secure “more than a two-thirds majority” in the upcoming polls.
Highlighting the state’s progress under the “double-engine government” of PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar, Shah said Bihar has witnessed significant improvements in infrastructure, governance, and welfare delivery.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsResponding to a question about the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, Shah said the NDA does not fight over positions and that the matter would be decided after the elections.
Earlier in the day, Shah had made similar remarks during a rally in Bihar, taking aim at the opposition and reinforcing that there is “no vacancy” for the CM’s post in the state.
The BJP and JD(U) have agreed to contest 101 seats each under an equal seat-sharing formula.
Bihar will vote in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results to be declared on November 14.
With inputs from agencies