‘RSS, Christian missionaries must join hands to stop love, land jihad of Bangladeshi infiltrators’: Nishikant Dubey

At 7.45 pm, a motorcade of 10-12 cars enters Karaun area, which falls under the Godda Lok Sabha seat, as a loudspeaker blares the BJP’s “Ab ki baar, 400 paar” slogan. Seated in a white luxury car is sitting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who is surrounded by supporters as soon as he alights from the vehicle.

Among the supporters, one proclaims that he was once a supporter of the ruling JMM in the state, and is now firmly behind the BJP. As he asks Dubey why (actor-turned-politician) Shatrughan Sinha is not with him, the MP quips: “He has joined another party (Sinha is now in the TMC). Bulaana hai kya unhe? Abhi bhi mere dost hain (Should I call him here? He is still my friend).”

Almost an hour later, another actor-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari, the BJP’s North East Delhi MP who is contesting from the seat again, arrives to a rapturous applause from the crowd. “Chauthi baar Nishikantji ko Delhi leke jaana hai (We need to elect Nishikantji for the fourth time),” Tiwari tells the crowd.

On the sidelines of the public meeting, Dubey speaks with The Indian Express about his time in Parliament, his priorities for the constituency, and “corruption” in Jharkhand. Excerpts:

But whom will the people vote for? Show me one household where there are no complaints… I know at least one lakh people in my constituency by name and can recognise them by face. I always say that (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is like a departmental store while I am like a “parchune ki dukaan” (small grocery store). Whatever the PM gave, I got it for my constituency like a retailer. He gave us schemes worth Rs 1.5 lakh crores, some of which have been completed while others are in the pipeline.

The constituency remained backward and then the PM came up with the ‘Look