It is an election between the people and the BJP, said Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, the INDIA bloc candidate for North East Delhi in the Lok Sabha election.
Stating that the main focus of his poll campaign is harmony, justice and development, Kumar, referring to his campaign programmes allegedly being scuttled, said the “BJP can do whatever they like”.
Responding to a question about permissions for his campaign being rejected, he said, “This has happened but it is okay…the party in power has an advantage.”
He told The Indian Express: “I am not too bothered.”
He further said, “Initially, we had plans to file our nomination on May 1 but then he (BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari) decided to file his nomination on the same day. I do not know what exactly happened but I am not too bothered about it…”
Kumar said that Tiwari was, in fact, “campaigning” for him. “Because in every press conference, he blames me while he has been the MP here for a decade and did nothing,” he added.
On why voters should choose him, Kumar said because their Parliamentarian has been absent “ever since he was elected”. He said, “Talk to anyone… from any party, they will say that we haven’t seen him… he hasn’t worked. This is why Tiwari is apologising to people and asking for votes in (PM Narendra) Modiji’s name.”
Continuing his attack on his opponent, Kumar said, “When he (Tiwari) was first elected, he was not the richest MP. Now, he is the richest…So, his wealth is increasing in tandem with the woes of the people.”
Kumar said he would be an efficient alternative to “such a bad performance”. He said, “By choosing me, they will elect an MP who can fight with the government for their rights.”
When asked about the frequent references to religion in his recent speeches, Kumar said, “I am not anti-religion. As far as my understanding of religion goes, it means to stand by the weak, for the truth, and stand against the hate.”
He further said, “During the religious gatherings that I used to attend at my home, we would pray for kindness in our hearts and for peace. So, I carry religion with me, but not blind faith.”
Stating that humanity was his religion, Kumar said, “If humanity is being divided in the name of any religion, then I do not associate myself with it.”
Kumar said there has been a shift in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign focus because of “desperation”. “Otherwise, they had started with ‘Sabka saath sab ka vikas’,” he added.
Saying that BJP’s emphasis on “politics of hate isn’t new,” Kumar said “they have been doing this since before Independence”. “But there is a limit to it,” he added.
Kumar, though, said it was not the divisive politics that had brought the BJP to power. “They came to power because there was anti-incumbency against the Congress in 2014,” he added.
“When PM was campaigning then, he was talking about vikas (development), jobs, about Rs 15 lakh in every account…so, to think that this polarisation alone got the BJP to power is a political miscalculation,” he said.
He further said, “The BJP tries to polarise in its narrative while in the background, it is practising social engineering. They give different hopes to different social groups…In 2014, they campaigned to abolish Income Tax, which attracted the middle-class. But after coming to power, they brought in GST and increased the taxes. There is a limit to divisive politics in this country because a huge population believes in multiculturalism.”
Regarding his shift from his ancestral Begusarai, Bihar, to North East Delhi constituency, Kumar said that each time it was the decision of the party he was associated with, and not his own. “Obviously, there is more comfort in the place where one is born,” he added. “Now, I look at it as a coincidence: That I was born on the banks of Ganga and now I am working on the banks of Yamuna, and that my name is Kanhaiya,” he said, referring to Lord Krishna.
On why voters should choose him, Kumar said because their Parliamentarian has been absent “ever since he was elected”. (Express Photo) 
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