Will make land bill campaign issue: Paswan

NEW DELHI: The NDA will pitch its much-derided land acquisition bill as a game-changer in Bihar and a key campaign issue when the state goes to poll later this year, food minister Ram Vilas Paswan, an ally of the NDA, said on Thursday.

Paswan said the land bill would be a “blessing” for Bihar, a state which would stand to “gain the most”. He said the NDA’s campaign would focus on explaining to Bihar’s electorate that the land bill would unleash a wave of jobspinning industrialization and give it roads and bridges.

“With better jobs, people would not need to migrate elsewhere and endure hardships. That will be our message,” Paswan said.

Paswan, who is ratcheting up his political gameplan, held his cards to his chest. “I am not in the CM race. I have already told from the beginning that whatever PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah decide, I will abide by their decision.”

Yet, distribution of seats between the allies, which includes the relatively smaller Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), could be a hot-button issue.

BJP chief Amit Shah has said the party wanted to win 185-plus seats in the 243-member Assembly. For this, it would have to contest more than 200 seats. This means the electoral pie left for the LJP and RLSP, would be slender. However, Paswan said: “Let’s not worry about that. Our aim is two-thirds majority together.”