Shah to stay put irrespective of poll outcome, says Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the outcome of Bihar elections would not have a bearing on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah’s future as party president. 

“There is no logic to link any Assembly election to the national president of the party. Even when I was party president, the party won and lost assembly elections. But I was not evaluated on that basis (assembly election results). Party presidents complete their tenures.” When asked if  Shah would get another term as party president, Singh said: “Naya term milega (He will get a fresh term).”

Echoing Singh’s views, senior leader Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said Amit Shah’s “stewardship and effective leadership” make him eligible for a second term as the party president. “It will be decided as and when the occasion comes. There will not be any problem,” Naidu said when asked about his stand on Singh’s comments that Shah will get a fresh term irrespective of the results of Bihar Assembly polls.

“Amit Shah is doing a good job, wonderful job. He is one of the most capable organisers of the party. He is providing effective leadership,” he said.

Singh and Naidu, both Unions Ministers, have held the posts of party president in the past. Shah’s current term ends in a couple of months.

The Home Minister had said Shah will get a fresh term irrespective of the Bihar election result, slated for November 8. Shah had taken over from Singh in July 2014, following the spectacular victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP, in which he had played a key role as a strategist and was credited with the party’s stunning sweep of Uttar Pradedh, winning 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, Singh on Monday addressed a rally at Katihar in Bihar, where he held Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar responsible for the state’s backwardness, while urging voters to give the NDA a chance to put the state on path of development.

“If Bihar lags behind other states in terms of road, education, health and agriculture infrastructure, the accountability rests with Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar who ruled the state over the past quarter century,” he said. He also praised PM Narendra Modi for enhancing India’s prestige abroad and asked the people of Bihar to repose faith in him and vote the NDA to power in the state.