'Jungle Raj', Maa Sita & Lalu Prasad's Scams: Amit Shah Asks Bihar BJP To Stick To 3-Point Mantra

Last Updated:March 30, 2025, 21:54 IST

Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a one-and-a-half hour meeting in Patna with the Bihar BJP organisation members. This was followed by a core committee meeting of state leaders

Union Home Minister Amit Shah being greeted by Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal during the party's core committee meeting, in Patna on March 29. (Image: PTI)

Before sounding the proverbial poll bugle on Sunday in Bihar’s Gopalganj, where assembly elections are due in October-November, Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave a three-point mantra – jungle raj, Sita, and corruption – to the BJP’s state leadership to focus on.

Shah held a one-and-a-half hour meeting late on Saturday (March 29) in Patna with the Bihar BJP organisation members. This was followed by a core committee meeting of state leaders.

Those present at that closed-door meeting said the home minister gave them a basic three-word formula to focus on for victory in the elections: RJD’s jungle raj, the BJP’s promise to build a grand temple for Sita, and the scams by former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

‘JUNGLE RAJ’

“Remind people of the days of the ‘jungle raj’ of the RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and its social impact, was the clear instruction from Amit Shah ji," said a Bihar BJP leader on condition of anonymity.

“Many over the years may have forgotten the days of kidnapping and murder. There’s a whole lot of new voters who have only heard about it. From now on, it will be the BJP’s main job to educate the people of Bihar about those dark days," the leader said, adding that ‘jungle raj’ will soon be the buzzword in the state.

On Sunday, addressing a public rally at Gopalganj, Shah tore into the RJD with the ‘jungle raj’ narrative. “What did Lalu Yadav’s government do in Bihar from 1990 to 2005? Lalu Yadav’s government defamed Bihar in the country and the world by doing a fodder scam in the entire state. His government will always be known as ‘jungle raj’ in the history of Bihar," he said.

“When they were in power (with Tejashwi as deputy chief minister), we saw the law-and-order situation. We have recently seen Subhash Yadav say the epicentre of the entire kidnapping racket of CM house (during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure) and when the same family members are saying we don’t need to say anything. People know this. A generation had forgotten it. But they have now seen it in this year or in the two years of the RJD-JD(U). Basically, the RJD is synonymous with bad law and order," BJP national spokesperson Guruprakash, who is from Bihar, told News18.

SCAMS

During Saturday’s meeting, Shah is believed to have told the state BJP to remind people, and remind Bihar of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s scams. When it comes to Lalu Prasad, everyone knows he is a convict out on bail that seems to have been normalised. Shah wants the BJP to go to voters and list out the scams for which he was convicted.

No wonder, on Sunday itself, Shah mentioned the fodder and bitumen scams at the Gopalganj rally. “These scams brought a bad name to Bihar. The 15-year RJD rule in Bihar will always be known for corruption, lawlessness and mass killings," he said.

The fodder scam was a scandal involving the embezzlement of about Rs 940 crore from the state’s funds. Lalu Prasad was convicted by a special CBI court. In the bitumen scam in Ranchi, meanwhile, the CBI court recently pronounced its verdict after 28 years. The court has sentenced five convicts, including former state minister Md Ilyas Hussain, to three years of imprisonment each.

RELIGION

If elections are here, can religion be far behind? While Shah had made a promise to build a “grand Sita temple" in Bihar just like the one in Ayodhya, on Saturday, he is believed to have asked the BJP leadership to hammer the point.

A source said they will particularly focus on the Mithila region from where Sita is believed to have belonged. In Mithilanchal, Hindu deity Ram’s wife is next to none. Many even consider her a victim and, hence, have a matriarchal wedding ritual.

Shah has, hence, chosen to honour “Mata Sita" and take her name in the same breath as Ram. On Sunday, he reiterated that the NDA government is also constructing a massive temple at the birthplace of Sita in Bihar. He even added that the Nitish Kumar-led government is developing ‘Punaura Dham Janki Mandir’, a Hindu pilgrimage site in Sitamarhi district, often believed to be Sita’s birthplace.

Shah first revealed the idea a few days ago while addressing a Shashwat Mithila Mahotsav 2025 event in Ahmedabad last week. He had said: “We have already built Ram temple at Ayodhya, now it is time to construct a grand Sita temple in Bihar (in Sitamarhi)."

News elections 'Jungle Raj', Maa Sita & Lalu Prasad's Scams: Amit Shah Asks Bihar BJP To Stick To 3-Point Mantra