Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Shankar Prasad is seeking re-election from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar. An old timer in the BJP, Prasad had spent most of his tenure in the Rajya Sabha till he took on Shatrughan Sinha in 2019 and secured a win by over lakh votes in the Modi wave. In 2024, Prasad is reminding voters that this election is to elect the Prime Minister, not the Sarpanch. “Jaat paat se uth kar desh hit mein sochna hai. Ye mukhiya, sarpanch ka chunav nahi hai, desh ke pradhan mantri ka chunav hai (One must think beyond caste and think of the nation. This is not an election for Sarpanch, it is to elect the Prime Minister,” he said to the voters in Patna.
The Patna Sahib constituency is set to vote in the last phase of Lok Sabha Election on June 1. The INDI alliance has put up former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar’s son Anshul Avijit against him.
CNN-News18 caught up with Ravi Shankar Prasad on a campaign trail. Here are edited excerpts from the interview.
Q: You met up with morning walkers in the park, you have one on one meetings with community leaders, a road show is also happening. What is the message you are taking to the voters of Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency?
Ravi Shankar Prasad: The whole country, including my constituency, is keen to see Modi ji as PM. I defeated Shatrughan Sinha (the sitting MP in 2019) by over 2 lakh votes. I don’t target my opponents, I just highlight my work.
Ravi Shankar Prasad’s wife Maya Shankar: I am getting a very positive response, specially from the Muslim women, who seem very enthusiastic towards the BJP.
Q: The Yadavs are a significant block in the over all voter dynamics of your constituency. Is Tejashwi Yadav and, therefore, the RJD in natural leadership position for this community?
Ravi Shankar Prasad: This election is not to elect a CM or Sarpanch or MLA. Where does Tejaswi Yadav figure in that scheme? What the Modi government has done in 5 years, making India world’s 5th largest economy, feeding so many crores through free ration, the Ujjwala Yojna, the triple talaq and 370 abolition. In many of these I played a role on the direction of the PM, as a Law Minister or for Digital India as the IT/Telecom minister or as a lawyer in Ram Janmabhoomi case in high courts, Supreme Court.
Q: But do people not ask you about bread and butter issues? Compare Lucknow and Patna, and say that UP’s capital has grown in leaps and bounds but Patna has been left behind?
Ravi Shankar Prasad: You may have a point but Patna has also developed. I got metro to Patna, the Vande Bharat express has come here and connected Patna to Ranchi, Varanasi, Kolkata. The Atal Path is a path breaking infrastructure for the city, new highways have come up, I have brought the plan for a new airport construction, an old bridge over Ganga was restored, two new bridges are coming up. Patna is now a smart city.
Q: The other big issue is that of ‘Palayan’- exodus because of lack of employment opportunities. Bihari labourer is working all over the country but not in his own state.
Ravi Shankar Prasad: Bihar is picking up on the agro-industry exposure and the start up scene. As far as going outside the state is concerned, it is a typical knack of Biharis, they went to Mauritius and Fiji also na? Trinidad, Tobago? They ended up as PM also na? Biharis are in Silicon City also and in top positions in Indian public sector and corporate. I am proud of the Bihari zeal.
Q: The Opposition is targeting Nitish Kumar for switching sides. How do you think this will play out for NDA?
Ravi Shankar Prasad: The past is the past. I can’t erase the past, if I go a little further, back then he was a minister in the Vajpayee government, he was the CM who ended the jungle raj of Lalu Yadav. People remember all this. Nitish Kumar is personally an honest man, his reasons for leaving, therefore, are understood. We will win.
Q: Talking of Lalu Yadav, the fourth member of his family, Rohini Acharya, is now in the electoral fray. Is BJP’s charge of pariwarvad sticking?
Ravi Shankar Prasad: I won’t comment on anyone’s daughter, but the people of Bihar see it. Modi ji says ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas’ but on the other hand, it’s mera vikas, mera parivar. The focus of the BJP is the country. Can a simple Yadav become the CM or MP or MLA in their (RJD) dispensation? They say ‘my Bihar’, for them it means ‘my family’. The people of Bihar and Patna know very well in whose hand India and Bihar are safe, and it is Narendra Modi.
Q: Will caste census plug prove to be a trump card?
Ravi Shankar Prasad: It is an issue of the past, people have moved on.
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