Development, not temple, our priority, says JD(U)

PATNA: JD(U) national vice-president and poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Friday set development as his party’s agenda and virtually advised BJP not to harp on Ram temple issue in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary election.
Kishor said he believes BJP can win the next general election without Ram Mandir on its agenda. He admitted that the Prime Minister was still strong though the Narendra Modi wave had waned compared to 2014 general elections.
Talking to reporters, Kishor said JD(U) boss and CM Nitish Kumar should commit to bringing Bihar among the top 10 developed states in the country in the next 10 years and it should be the party’s agenda in the next elections.
Kishor, who played an important role for Modi in 2014 general election and Nitish in 2015 assembly polls, said: “I still believe NDA under the leadership of Narendra Modi will perform well in 2019. BJP won 2014 Lok Sabha election when Ram Mandir was not a poll issue. I know this very well because I had worked with the BJP in that election.”
When asked about BJP’s loss in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Kishor said: “The results are not alarming for the BJP. People have given their mandate and it should be respected. There will be no change in the JD(U) strategy in view of the assembly election results while preparing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.”
He said the announcement of seats to be shared by NDA allies BJP, JD(U) and LJP in Bihar was “a mere formality”. BJP national president Amit Shah had announced on October 26 that BJP and JD(U) would contest the equal number of seats in 2019 election.
Asked to comment on Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath’s meetings with Hindu gurus, Kishor said: “We — BJP and JD(U) -- are in alliance because our ideologies match on certain issues. And we are two different parties, our opinions do not match on several other issues; otherwise we would have been one party.”
Kishor, who has been trying to build a youth brigade for JD(U) from the grassroots level since formally joining the party on October 16, said: “The youths here compare Bihar with other developed states and cities like Hyderabad. We can no longer keep comparing the present state with that during RJD chief Lalu Prasad regime. Those in the age group of 25-30 years were around 10 years old in 2004. They can hardly recall what Bihar looked like in Lalu era. They are concerned that the youths are still forced to migrate to other states for jobs.”