'Every party want to contest more seats, nothing wrong in it. We have to compromise to take all together as the NDA.'
Dileep Jaiswal is a busy and most sought after Bharatiya Janata Party leader with the Bihar assembly polls slated for early next month.
He is a direct link to the party's top national leadership as the BJP state unit president, and also accessible to party leaders and workers across the state.
A three-time member of the Bihar legislative council, Jaiswal is also a former minister and considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Jaiswal has been regularly shuttling between Patna and Delhi to meet top party leaders and attend meetings of NDA allies ahead of the elections.
"The BJP and JD-U are contesting more seats because both have a large party network and a strong support base," Jaiswal tells Rediff Senior Contributor M I Khan.
Less than a month left for Bihar assembly polls, but seat-sharing took a long time before being announced on Sunday.
Everything had already been finalised about seat-sharing, only the formal announcement was made (on Sunday).
The top leaders of the BJP and allies -- Janata Dal-United, Lok Janshakti Party-(Ramvilas), Hindustan Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha -- held several rounds of talk in Patna as well as in Delhi.
Reports suggest that the LJP-R, HAM and RLM wanted more seats and were not ready to accept the offers made by the BJP, delaying seat sharing.
Now things have been settled. All of us have agreed to contest as the NDA. There is no issue of this and that, only the NDA.
The BJP and JD-U agreed to contest fewer seats this time than in 2020 due to the hard bargaining and pressure from smaller allies.
Look, we are all NDA and our goal is to contest together and win the polls.
Every party want to contest more seats, nothing wrong in it. We have to compromise to take all together as the NDA.
The BJP and JD-U are contesting more seats because both have a large party network and a strong support base.
Earlier you had claimed that there is no bada bhai aur chota bhai (big brother and small brother) in the ruling NDA.
Is it not contrary to the repeated claim made by leaders of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD-U that they are the big brother in Bihar?
Yes, I said that there was no big and small brother in NDA. I mean that all allies going to contest next month's assembly polls are equal shareholders in the NDA.
We are united and what matters most is that the NDA will contest from all 243 assembly seats.
The BJP and JD-U are contesting the same number of seats. There is no issue over it.
Pre-polls surveys reveal a close contest this time like the 2020 polls. What is your assessment?
NDA is a clear-cut winner. Come November 14, it will return to power again.
In Bihar, people understand that the double engine government has been working to develop the state.
Prime Minister Narendar Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have done a lot of development work.
Development is visible everywhere -- road connectivity, national highways, bridges, railway upgradation, hospitals, pucca houses for the poor. A number of welfare schemes and cash benefits reach hundreds and thousands of people.
The NDA is confident to seek votes in the name of development.
The people will support and vote to continue this ongoing development.
We will appeal to the people to have faith in Modi's guarantee for development.
Who is the NDA chief ministerial candidate, or will it be decided after the results?
As of now, Nitish Kumar is our chief minister and the NDA is contesting the polls under his leadership. No need for the media to speculate on the basis of false propaganda by Opposition leaders.
The NDA is united and will remain united after the polls as well; the chief minister issue will be decided smoothly in the NDA.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor had made serious allegations of corruption against you. What is your response?
Allegations are allegations, neither truth nor fact.
I am in politics, working day and night. Anybody can say anything, I hardly take notice of such baseless talk.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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