You got it wrong, Nitish Kumar tells scribes when asked about ‘last poll’ remark

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday sought to make clear his current “aakhiri chunaav” (final ballot) comment which had triggered intense speculations, and claimed that it was an utterance made by him at any time when he wrapped up an election marketing campaign, nevertheless it was “misunderstood” this time.

The JD(U) president was speaking to journalists right here for the primary time after outcomes for the meeting elections got here out and the NDA bought a transparent majority, although his personal celebration suffered a droop and bought outperformed by junior accomplice BJP. The JD(U) gained 43 seats towards the saffron celebration’s 71.

Click right here for full Bihar election protection

“You guys did not get it right. I say the same thing at the last rally in every election ant bhala to sab bhala (all is well that ends well),” mentioned Kumar when requested about his closing remarks at an election assembly he addressed in Purnea district final week, shortly earlier than campaigning for the ultimate part of polls got here to an finish.

“Listen to what I said before and after it and you will understand the context. Had you done so, you would not have misunderstood it,” mentioned Kumar whose phrases “ye mera aakhiri chunaav hai” (that is my final election) was interpreted by the opposition as an admission of impending defeat and a ploy to ring a bell with an indignant voters.

However, JD(U) leaders had later got here out with a clarification that “aakhiri chunaav” meant “aakhiri chunaavi sabha” (final election assembly) and Kumar was not speaking about retirement.

The 69-year-old chief minister, who has been in energy since 2005, appeared sad over projections of a powerful anti-incumbency throughout the elections and predictions of a rout of the ruling dispensation.

Also Read| ‘You dream of becoming CM after getting 40 seats’: RJD’s Manoj Jha taunts Nitish Kumar

“I have been selflessly serving people. Still, some people succeeded in creating some confusion. You must have noted the anxieties triggered in public mind following the projections of the exit polls,” Kumar mentioned.

Most exit polls had predicted a snug victory for the RJD-led Grand Alliance which had led to fears, amongst these not sympathetic to Lalu Prasad’s celebration, that its return to energy might result in lawlessness.

“Jungle raj”, alluding to the alleged lawlessness that prevailed throughout the 15 years Prasad and his spouse Rabri Devi had dominated the state, got here to be the recurring theme of the NDA’s ballot marketing campaign.

Lending weight to the narrative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who’s being credited for the BJP’s stellar efficiency, had repeatedly warned the individuals of the state towards guarantees made by Prasad’s inheritor obvious Tejashwi Yadav, whom he by no means talked about by title however at all times known as “jungle raj ke yuvraj”.

Yadav was additionally the chief ministerial candidate of the RJD-led Grand Alliance.