Tejashwi: PM Modi, Nitish couldn’t stop this 31-year-old with money, muscle, deceit

Patna: Despite using "money, muscle, and deceit", the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, couldn't stop the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) from becoming the single largest party, asserted Mahagathbandan leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday, speaking for the first time after the Bihar election results. Yadav was declared the leader of the Opposition today, after an all-party meeting of the Mahagathbandan or Grand Alliance, led by the RJD. "Although it was a double-engine government in the state, we fought on important issues and I am happy that people, including the youth, Asha didis (workers), and teachers, favoured us. PM Modi used money, muscle and deceit, and the chief minister had the support of rich industrialists. Despite this, they could not stop this 31-year-old. The BJP tried everything but couldn't stop the RJD from becoming the single largest party," Tejashwi said, suggesting that Chief Minister Kumar should vacate the post if he has some morality and respect for the public mandate left. "If Nitish has a little bit of morality left, then he should respect the mandate by the public and vacate the post. We are in the public's heart, even though they have the power," he said. The Yadav scion also declared that he would spearhead a "Dhanyawad Yatra" to thank the public for their support during this election. To keep the pressure on the next government, the RJD leader announced that if improvement in basic issues like jobs, education and health is not witnessed by January next year, his alliance would protest. "The Opposition has set the agenda. If 19 lakhs jobs are not provided and improvement doesn't happen by January, we will have a big protest," he said. (ANI)