Patna, Oct 6: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Sunday asserted that the victory of Congress in the Haryana assembly elections, as predicted by exit polls, should be viewed as a defeat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Replying to queries by journalists before boarding his flight to Delhi, the former Bihar Chief Minister said, “Ye paraajay hai Narendra Modi ka (this should be seen as a defeat of Narendra Modi).”
Prasad is expected to appear before a court in Delhi on Monday in connection with the land-for-jobs scam during his tenure as Railway Minister in the previous UPA government. Several of his family members are also named in the case and are likely to accompany him to court.
His eldest daughter, Lok Sabha MP Misa Bharti, accompanied her father and also answered questions from journalists regarding the exit polls, most of which indicated that Congress, an alliance partner of the RJD, is poised to take power from the BJP in Haryana.
Bharti said, “I see it as a victory for the INDIA bloc, of which our party is a part. Haryana is going to get a government of the people (janta ki sarkar).”
The BJP has ruled Haryana for two consecutive terms. Counting of votes in the state is scheduled on Tuesday.
Several exit polls on Saturday predicted a clear majority for the Congress in Haryana.
‘Dainik Bhaskar’ predicted the Congress getting 44-54 seats and the BJP 15-29 seats in the 90-member Haryana Assembly. The C-Voter-India Today polls gave Congress 50-58 seats and the BJP 20-28 seats in Haryana, while the Republic Bharat-Matrize polls put the Congress tally even higher at 55-62 seats as against the BJP’s 18-24.
The Red Mike-Datansh exit poll gave the Congress 50-55 seats in Haryana and the BJP at 20-25, while Dhruv Research pegged the Congress at 50-64 and the BJP at 22-32.
Peoples’ Pulse exit poll gave the Congress 49-60 seats and the BJP 20-32 seats in Haryana. Most exit polls pegged the INLD’s tally higher than that of the JJP, while others were seen getting up to 10 seats. (PTI)
