Patna : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that the BJP’s top leadership has already accepted defeat in the forthcoming assembly elections.”Or else why would they start claiming that this election is not a referendum on the performance of the Modi Sardar,” he told this correspondent here this evening. Relaxing after a gruelling campaign day that gave him a sore throat, Kumar refuted the contention of the BJP leadership that this election cannot be treated as a referendum on the central government.”Or else why should they move their party headquarters to a local hotel, and all the Union ministers,” he quipped, pointing out that the latest joke here is that the union cabinet can very well hold a meeting in Bihar. ” The prime minister has staked his personal prestige, and is spending an amount of time that is unprecedented for any election,” he added.
Commenting on the campaign in a lighter vein, the Bihar chief minister said that issues like the price of dal, the promise to deposit Rs 15 lakhs in the account of every citizen figure in this campaign by popular demand.” The crowd wants us to speak about these issues,” he remarked. Exuding confidence on the eve of the polling for the third phase of 50 seats, the Bihar chief minister refused to look beyond the campaign at this stage.” There will be time enough for all the issues, right now we are focussed on this campaign,” he said. He is expected to cast his vote on Wednesday in the Barh constituency.
