Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday kicked off his party’s campaign to reach voters ahead of polls as he seeks another term in office.
The campaign, titled “Har ghar dastak (knock every door)”, will run for a month. Party workers plan to visit at least 10 million houses and request their support during this time.
Kumar himself visited 10 houses in the capital city Patna on the first day, leaving the comfort of his air-conditioned official car to gently give a knock on the doors of citizens in the sweltering, rainy weather. Most people welcomed his gesture.
The first house he knocked today belonged to one Krishna Sahu in the Patna city area.
During his stay at each house, he appealed to the voters with folded hands to give him another chance to serve if they are happy with his performance.
He was accompanied by security personnel and battery of party leaders.
He also took selfies with the people whom he met on this venture, a move which analysts say mimics Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Har har Modi, ghar-ghar Modi” campaign.
Before leaving each home, he pasted a sticker with a slogan “Aage badhara rahe Bihar, phir ek bar Nitish Kumar” (Give Nitish Kumar another term to see Bihar flourishing)”, which is also reminiscent of BJP’s much-publicised Lok Sabha slogan, “Aabki baar Modi sarkar (This time it should be the Narendra Modi government)”.
The sticker carries the image of only the Bihar chief minister, and no one else.
“We plan to reach as many houses across the state as we can, although our target is to cover at least 10 million houses during the monthlong intensive campaign,” Kumar told journalists, while launching the campaign.
As part of the campaign, each Janata Dal-United (JD-U) worker will be visiting 10 houses every day in the next 30 days to give details of the government’s achievements to voters before seeking their support. They will also have to paste a sticker bearing the image of the chief minister on the wall of the houses as a proof of their visit.
The idea is to cover three million people in every three hours.
During the campaign, voters are being asked four questions by the visiting JD-U workers and leaders — 1. Has Bihar marched ahead on the path of development in the past 10 years? 2. Has every person and community benefited from the present government? 3. Is Nitish Kumar the hero of the growth story? And finally, if yes, then please give Nitish Kumar another term in office.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party dismissed the campaign, terming it a move which would only boomerang.
“While on the one hand chief minister is knocking the doors to seek masses’ support, on the other criminals are knocking and robbing houses with impunity as the life of the common man has turned into a virtual [tragedy]. The situation is worse than even the proverbial ‘Jungle Raj’ of Lalu Prasad,” said BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain. He said the chief minister had nothing to show as achievement to the masses.
BJP’s state president Mangal Pandey launched an even more blistering attack on the chief minister saying voters would teach him a lesson for his utter neglect.
“The chief minister did not meet the people in distress and turned a blind eye to them while they needed his support but now he is visiting their houses. When he doesn’t visit the masses during the time of distress, they too will mete out similar treatment to him,” asked Pandey.
He said the JD-U slogan would not bear any fruit.
