Tejaswi Yadav: Rahul will play 'central role' in formation of new govt

A coalition of progressive parties will come together to form the next government and Congress president Rahul Gandhi will play a central role in the formation of the new dispensation RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said on ThursdayAsserting that the BJP has failed to deliver on its slogans including achche din kala dhan vapsi return of black money and beti bachao beti padhao he alleged that the party has intensified its hatefilled politics to avoid being questioned on its promisesYadav whose Rashtriya Janata Dal is fighting the polls in Bihar in alliance with the Congress Rashtriya Lok Samta Party Hindustan Awam Morcha and Vikasshil Insan Party also claimed the mahagathbandhan will sweep the polls in the stateThose who colluded in flouting peoples mandate will be defeated Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have always been key to forming central governments that will not change he told PTI in an interview I recognise that there is a strong antiincumbency wave across India and each state will count he saidHis remarks come ahead of the seventh and the final phase of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on May 19 2019 when polling will be held in eight constituencies in Bihar Nalanda Patna Sahib Pataliputra Arrah Buxar Sasaram Karakat and JahanabadYadav the younger son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad also expressed confidence that a coalition of progressive parties will come together to form the government at the Centre Asked if Rahul Gandhi is the best bet among opposition leaders to lead the country as prime minister Yadav said the Congress chief has shown great maturity in his style of leadershipHe mounted a very spirited anda truly pan India criticism of the Narendra Modi governments policies So yes I feel he will be playing a central role in the formation of the new government the former Bihar deputy chief minister saidRahul ji is the president of Indias oldest party he has been a parliamentarian for the last 15 years and five chief ministers are working under his able leadership You tell me why he is not more suitable than the current PM he askedAt a rally in Samastipur last month Yadav also urged people to make Gandhi the prime ministerAsked if the RJD will back Rahul Gandhis name for prime minister if the opposition gets the required numbers the RJD leader said I have been repeating it for months now He Gandhi has been very consistent in providing an alternative vision of governance with Nyay justice and that is in sync with our core philosophyYadav also slammed the BJP for its narrative during the election campaign alleging that in contrast to the 2014 polls when the promise of achche din was the BJPs plank Modi has been grappling with various tropes but has not been able to rally the people around any one narrativeAnybody who is paying attention to social media in India today or has bothered to talk to the unemployed daily wage poor the middleclass salaried people or the farmers would know that the BJP and PM Modi personally have not been able deal with the antiincumbency sentiments among these segments of Indian voters he claimedThe BJP put in efforts in intensifying its brand of hatefilled politics because it cannot afford to remind the electorate of the slogans around achche din kala dhan beti bachao etc the 29yearold leader saidYadav asserted that there is a wave against the Modi government and not an undercurrentIf a wave is not shown on television does it become an undercurrent History will judge the opposition mounted by the gathbandhan parties in the face of intimidatory tactics of the BJP the way they used state institutions to wage a war against the opposition and employed cheap tactics such as denying basic rights such as bail to popular leaders like Lalu Yadav ji he saidAccording to the seatsharing arrangement among mahagathbandhan constituents in Bihar the RJD was given 20 seats out of which it gave one to CPIML and the Congress is contesting on nine Upendra Kushwahas Rashtriya Lok Samata Party is fighting on five seats with former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhis Hindustani Awam Morcha HAM and Mukesh Sahnis Vikassheel Insaan Party VIP contesting three seats eachThe mahagathbandhan in Bihar is up against the NDA As per the seat sharing deal of the NDA the JDU and the BJP are contesting 17 seats each while Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Janshakti Party is contesting the remaining six seatsYadav also hit out atBihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying no development work was done in Bihar and a person who raised voice for the poor is in jail You have been a cabinet minister in the Centre from 1998 to 2004 but how much amount was given for Bihars development works during your regime Yadav wrote in a letter addressed to Nitish Chacha JiCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get the latest updatesEdited by midday online desk with inputs from Agencies