Bihar’s ‘crown princes’ will meet same fate as UP’s: Modi at Chapra rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (November 1) used the ‘yuvraj’ (crown prince) metaphor again to take a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav, while addressing a poll rally in Bihar’s Chapra.

Calling both the Opposition leaders ‘double double yuvraj’, Modi said both of them will meet the same fate that another pair – Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi – faced in Uttar Pradesh a few years ago.

“Three or four years ago, even in the Uttar Pradesh elections, double princes were shaking hands with the people from atop buses. They were made to return home by the people of Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

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“A prince there has now met the prince of Jungle Raj,” he said.

While he did not directly name Rahul Gandhi, Modi, in a rally earlier this week had called Tejashwi “Jungle raj ka yuvjraj” (the crown prince of Jungle Raj), in a jibe at the Lalu Prasad Yadav rule.

The prime minister said while the ‘crown princes’ are fighting tooth and nail to save their thrones, the ‘double-engine’ NDA government’s only agenda is the development of Bihar.

Modi’s rally at Chapra – a stronghold of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav – was the first of a series of campaigns lined up ahead of the polls.

In another rally in Samastipur, Modi accused the Congress-RJD-led Mahagathbandhan for resorting to dynasty politics.

“On one side, the NDA is committed to democracy, and on the other side is ‘parivar tantra gathbandhan’. NDA government is for ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’. No one from the families of Modi or Nitish Babu has reached the corridors of power. Self-serving dynasts treat the state and governance as their personal properties,” he was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a series of rallies in Bihar earlier this week.

Tejashwi whose rallies so far have been witnessing giant crowds, has over 15 campaigns slotted ahead of the polls.

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“He is the country’s prime minister. He can say anything,” Tejashwi had said without commenting on the ‘crown prince of Jungle Raj’ swipe.