lok-sabha-elections

Updated: Apr 10, 2019 17:24 IST

RJD president Lalu Prasad, serving jail term in fodder scam cases of 1990s, on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government saying that it is pursuing a divisive agenda to stay in power.

Prasad, who released a letter on Twitter from Ranchi jail, alleged that the Modi government “has tried to scrap reservation” in jobs. He said the Lok Sabha election is a “do or die” fight for those working to protect constitution.

“This is a nautanki (pretentious) government. It wants to enslave you by saying that there is a threat to the nation, threat to Hindus or sometimes, there is threat to economy,” he said.

Prasad’s letter has come a day ahead of the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls beginning April 11. A total of 91 Lok Sabha constituencies across 20 states will vote in the first phase of the national election on Thursday.

Prasad blamed the rival political forces acting with vested interest for his conviction in the fodder scam case.

Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal is leading the grand-alliance in Bihar against the ruling coalition of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal-United and Lok Janshakti Party. The RJD is in alliance with the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party of Upendra Kushwaha, who had contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 as NDA constituent.

The NDA had won 31 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Bihar when the JD-U of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had snapped ties with the BJP. Later, Prasad and Kumar buried their differences to stitch a grand-alliance against the NDA, which suffered massive defeat in the assembly election in 2015. The victory of the grand-alliance was largely credited to Lalu Prasad, who revived his RJD in Bihar.

In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the RJD is being led by Prasad’s younger son Tejashwi Yadav. Bihar votes in all seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections. In the first phase, four Lok Sabha seats - Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada and Jamui – go to polls in Bihar.

Lok Sabha elections are being held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.