Six-time BJP MLA Prem Kumar plays safe as supporters project him as Bihar CM candidate

Gaya: As Bihar votes to elect a new Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is facing questions about who would be the chief minister if it comes to power on November 8. Names of several BJP leaders are doing the rounds with one of them being that of Gaya Town MLA Prem Kumar, who has never lost an election since 1990 and is one of the longest serving BJP MLA.

On Tuesday, IBNLive went on a campaign trail with him, and found that the reported declaration of his name as a CM candidate by senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain has come as a boost for Prem Kumar. His supporters have now transformed his campaign from merely winning an Assembly seat into one staking claim to the CM office.

During a motorcycle roadshow of the veteran BJP leader, his supporters openly shouted slogans such as "Bihar ka CM kaisa ho, Prem Kumar jaisa ho (Bihar's CM should be like Prem Kumar)” and "Khaali kar do raaste, Prem Kumar ke vaaste (Make way for Prem Kumar)”.

During a nukkadsabha held by Prem Kumar in a residential area of Gaya, one of his senior party workers even announced before a gathering that the six-time MLA who has been winning since 1990 can hold a very important office in Patna after November 8.

Speaking to IBNLive exclusively about his chances of becoming the chief minister if NDA wins, Prem Kumar said, "I don’t have anything to say about this. A decision in this regard will be taken by my party.”

Following this, his supporters again raised slogans staking claim for the top political office in Patna.

Confident of NDA's victory, Prem Kumar said, "People have rejected the alliance of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad. They will soon be a past for Bihar. Our alliance is coming to power on November 8 without any doubt." He also expressed confidence about his party’s victory "under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah”.

But it is not a smooth sailing for Prem Kumar even though he has won the Gaya Town seat six times, and may retain it for the seventh time. Many voters of Gaya Town believe that he has not done as much developmental work as he should have. When asked about the slow pace of development work in Gaya, which is a holy town and attracts thousands of Hindus as well as Buddhists, he said, "I have announced a special team, comprising some respectable citizens of the town, to look into all the issues concerning Gaya, and ensure the development of the region.”

Talking about the issue of drying of Phalgu river, which is considered sacred by Hindus, and scarcity of drinking water in the city because of it, the BJP MLA said that the process to connect it with larger rivers has already begun, and Gaya would soon witness water flowing in the river.

While Prem Kumar has been accused of not doing much for the development of Gaya, he is one of the few politicians who has not faced any criminal charge despite being a legislator for so long.

However, his party has, during the ongoing Assembly polls, has given tickets to many with criminal records. The BJP MLA skirted a question on the issue, saying, "When one joins politics, several false allegations are also leveled against the person. The criminal charges on BJP leaders may not be true. In politics, one often has to get arrested or go to jail for the benefit of people.”

When asked if the caste permutation was in NDA's favour, the six-time MLA responded with the poll slogan of the BJP – "Sabka Saath Sabka Vishwas”, adding that his party would never resort to caste politics.

Notably, despite people in Gaya Town being vocal about lack of development work by their MLA, most feel that there’s no stopping him even this time. However, the voters feel that the margin of his victory may remain as low as 3000-4000, with votes of some castes such as Chandravanshi expected to go against him.

He also has two strong faces in fray against him – Priya Ranjan alias Dimple of Congress and independent candidate Raju Barnwal, who was the Gaya chief of JDU until he was denied ticket by the party. The latter is expected to cut into the votes of Prem Kumar from the traders community.