Post Gujarat verdict: JDU issues an alert for BJP for 2019 Lok Sabha elections

Patna: Janata Dal (United), Bharatiya Janata Party's partner in Bihar, on Tuesday advised the Narendra Modi government to focus on issues related to farmers.

As per a News 18 report, Sanjay Jha, the JDU general secretary said that PM Modi should focus on his promise to double farmers' income by 2022.

Another JDU leader, KC Tyagi, was also quoted as saying that the government should extend sops to the rural sector.

Earlier, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday launched a stinging attack on its ally BJP in Maharashtra, saying "the much-touted Gujarat model has shaken" and the poll outcome in the state was a "warning bell" to those who believe in an autocratic rule.

The Sena said Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Patidar leader Hardik Patel had been ridiculed as "monkeys" but "these 'monkeys' have slapped the 'lion'".

The Sena attack on the BJP came in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', a day after the BJP retained power in Gujarat with a reduced tally of 99 seats against 115 last time.

The Congress increased its tally from 61 seats last time to 77 this time.

The Sena said the BJP had "barely managed to pass" the electoral exam but was pretending to have passed with distinction. The BJP won Gujarat and Himachal, but the Congress also did not lose, the editorial said.

"The dream of a 'Congress-Mukt Bharat' (Congress-free India) remained unfulfilled," the Shiv Sena said. "Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to play the Gujarati pride card (to win these elections)," it added.

This election result in Gujarat is a "warning bell for those who believe in an autocratic rule", the Sena said.

(With PTI inputs)