NDA partners are standing together like 5 Pandavas, opposition is divided and in shambles: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah said that in the Bihar elections, the opposition's Mahagathbandhan alliance is falling apart as their alliance-members have failed to even put out a joint list of seats shared. In contrast, Shah said the five alliance partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced their seat sharing together like the "5 Pandavas" and they were set to return to power in the state with two-thirds majority.

In an exclusive interview to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah said, "I have watched the Mahagathbandhan alliance closely over the past 5 months. There is no coordination in their alliance. Opposition has formed MGB alliance under compulsion."

Referring to Rahul Gandhi's absence from Bihar campaign for almost 2 months and reports that Vikashsheel Insaan Party (VIP) president Mukesh Sahani refused to share the dais at a press conference until he was promised deputy chief minister's chair, Shah said, "In their alliance, someone was unhappy and went abroad for 2 months. Someone was unhappy and refused to join their press conference, so he was placated and offered deputy chief-ministerial candidature. They fought for seats, and couldn't even announce the final seat sharing structure of their alliance."

"On the other hand, there was no confusion in our NDA alliance. We released the entire seat-sharing formula in one go. There was absolutely no confusion. Our 5 alliance partners are standing together like the 5 Pandavas, while the opposition is divided and in shambles," he added.

He predicted the fate of Mahagathbandhan by saying, "Back in the day, Indira Gandhi used to compare the alliance of opposition parties with an orange — saying that every piece of the orange would fall apart and the alliance would disintegrate after the election."

The Union home minister boldly predicted that the NDA bloc will return to power in Bihar with a landslide victory securing 2/3rd seats in the upcoming Bihar assembly election. “See providing exact number is difficult but I want to say that we will win more than 2/3rd majority in Bihar. And by we, I mean the NDA bloc will win the election under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Nitish Kumar,” he said at News18’s Bihar Conclave.

Responding to questions regarding RJD's announcement of removing the ban on toddy in state if they came to power, Shah said that that prohibition was CM Nitish Kumar's policy and it helped women of Bihar. "Prohibition in Bihar is NDA policy and we fully endorse it," he said.

Talking about removal of Naxalism from the state, the home minister remarked that earlier elections in the state ended at 3PM, primarily due to fear of Naxal attacks. "This time around, the elections will be held till 5PM," he remarked, adding that the country will be free of Naxals by March 31, 2026. "Crack down on red terror will continue till they surrender completely," he added.