Conduct polls in one phase: Nitish Kumar

PATNA: Parliamentary election should be conducted in one phase across the country as the prolonged process adversely impacts democracy and its integrity, feels chief minister Nitish Kumar, who returned to the state capital on Saturday after gruelling 44 days of stumping since March 25.

Tired yet wearing his trademark smile, Nitish appeared unnerved over his rivals' claims that JD (U) was facing a drubbing this election. "Wait for May 16. People will know who was right and who was wrong," he said.

He was also anguished over the huge spending by the BJP and Congress in the election. "It is difficult to imagine how much money these parties spent and from which source it came. Which industrialists on what conditions invested in these parties? But one question remains. If the nation and its people got any benefit from this huge spending? Did anybody say how inflation will be curbed and how corruption will be checked," he said.

Taking a jibe at the leaders of his old ally BJP, Nitish said sarcastically, "There are people who are working to pull down my government. They are readying to celebrate Holi and ordering for sweets to be distributed. But, who knows what is going to happen tomorrow. So, why should one be worried about the chair," he said philosophically. Some BJP leaders have predicted the fall of Nitish government after the Lok Sabha polls results and one of them even fixed a deadline of May 21.

Nitish said JD (U) is the only party which talked about issues like corruption, scams and unemployment and focused on the development of Bihar and how to make the state and its people more secured and prosper. He said no other party touched any issue. "Others openly played communal and caste cards. This election will be remembered for the prolonged campaign by divisive forces who made all out attempts to divide the society in the name of religion and castes. Even leaders called to send those opposed to a particular individual to Pakistan and to do away with reservation policy," he alleged.

State JD (U) president Bashistha Narain Singh said instead of touching public issues, the BJP leaders hurled abuses and allegations against Nitish. "BJP is trying to grow lotus in the mud of communalism. Their attack on Nitish clearly indicates that the arrow of secularism and development with justice has hit the bullseye and they are abusing the archer (Nitish)," he said.