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A pipe-dream for Lalu, says Shahnawaz

Special Correspondent

"His base in his home State Bihar itself has crumbled"

Syed Shahnawaz Hussain after winning the Lok Sabha by-poll from Bhagalpur.

JAIPUR: Former Union Minister and BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain on Monday termed Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's ambition to become Prime Minister a "pipe-dream".

Mr. Prasad would never make it as his base in his home State Bihar itself had crumbled, Mr. Hussain said.

"Coming as it did after two days of his party's scrubbing in the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat, Mr. Prasad's observation in a TV interview that he wished to become the country's Prime Minister one day sounded unrealistic and hollow," Mr. Hussain told journalists.

The former Civil Aviation Minister was here after a thanksgiving visit to the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer for his victory in the Bhagalpur by-election.

Mr. Hussain, who won from Bhagalpur with a margin of over 55,000 votes in a triangular fight against RJD and CPI (M) candidates, said he broke Mr. Prasad's M-Y (Muslim-Yadav) combination in favour of H-M (Hindu-Muslim) in the current polls.

"The NDA rule has brought harmony between Muslims and Hindus in Bihar. The H-M combination worked in my favour," he said.

"Forty to 50 per cent of the Muslims in urban areas and 60-70 in rural areas voted for me. The NDA Government has brought about a new confidence in the Muslim community in Bihar," Mr. Hussain claimed. He challenged Mr. Prasad's claims of good performance as Union Railway Minister. "The result of the good work done by Nitish Kumar as Railway Minister is showing now. The bad effects of Mr. Prasad's governance would be visible after a few years. If Mr. Prasad could make a turnaround in the Railways in a short period, why could he not do the same for Bihar in 15 years?"

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