'Akin to Sachin-Sehwag opening pair': Rajnath Singh lauds BJP-JD(U) tie-up ahead of polls

Addressing an election rally in Barhara constituency on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh opined that the BJP-JDU alliance is like the famous opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in cricket. Appealing people not to reject these parties in the upcoming Bihar polls, he highlighted the corruption-free record of the Bihar government under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi. Singh mentioned that the state had transformed under NDA rule as compared to the 15 years of RJD rule.

On this occasion, the BJP leader saluted the martyrs who laid down their lives in the Galwan Valley clash. Taking a dig at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's assertion that the UPA government would have thrown out the Chinese Army within 15 minutes, the Defence Minister recalled the debacle of 1962. He reiterated that no power in the world can occupy an inch of Indian territory. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh remarked, "As far as JD(U) and BJP are concerned, I want to tell you that please do not reject this pair. Do you know what kind of a pair this is? The JD(U)- BJP pair is like the opening pair of Sachin and Sehwag in cricket. You can have your take on what work Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi have done and what remains pending. But, I am also in politics for many years. I can say with confidence that no one in the entire country and not just Bihar can accuse them of corruption."

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Bihar Assembly election

The Bihar Assembly has a strength of 243 members out of which 38 seats are reserved for SC and two for ST. In the 2015 state polls, the Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress won a whopping majority with 178 seats under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. On the other hand, the BJP-led alliance won from only 58 constituencies. On July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar stepped down as the CM citing irreconcilable differences with RJD over corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav and joined hands with its former ally BJP.

The upcoming Assembly election will be held in 3 phases- October 28, November 3 and November 7.  To decongest polling stations, the voting time has been increased by one hour. Thus, people will be able to cast their votes from 7 am to 6 pm barring for the areas affected by Left-wing extremism. The counting of votes will take place on November 10. 

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