Campaigning for Bihar’s assembly elections intensified as prominent leaders, including Prime Minister Modi and Congress president Kharge, held rallies across the state. Voting in Bihar will be held in two phases – November 6 and 11, and counting of votes is on November 14.
Campaigning for the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections reached fever pitch on Monday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed rallies across the state.
With just one day left before the campaign silence begins, the country’s top political leaders crisscrossed Bihar, targeting each other and rallying support for their respective alliances.
Modi Attacks RJD-Congress Alliance
Prime Minister Modi addressed public meetings in Saharsa and Katihar districts, bringing his total campaign events in the state to eight, including a roadshow in Patna on Sunday.
Continuing his sharp attack on the opposition INDIA bloc, Modi alleged that the Congress had agreed to project RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as chief minister only after a “katta (country-made gun)” was pointed at its head by Lalu Prasad’s RJD.
He also claimed that RJD posters were deliberately leaving out images of party patriarch Lalu Prasad to “hide his sins.”
Shah Predicts NDA Sweep
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has already addressed more than a dozen rallies since the poll schedule was announced on October 6, held meetings in Sheohar, Madhubani, and Sitamarhi—districts bordering Nepal.
Predicting a decisive win for the BJP-led NDA, Shah said, “On November 14, the day of counting, it will be clear by 1 p.m. that the INDIA bloc has been wiped out.”
Later, Shah stayed back in Madhubani for a traditional Maithili dinner with JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and local leaders, a video of which was widely shared on social media.
Kharge Slams Nitish, BJP
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held his first rally of the campaign in Vaishali, followed by a press conference in Patna.
Kharge accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of “sitting in the lap of the pro-Manu Smriti BJP” and alleged a “conspiracy” by the BJP to deny Kumar another term. He pointed to the JD(U) leader’s absence at the prime minister’s rallies and roadshow as evidence of rift within the NDA.
JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad dismissed Kharge’s claims, noting that Tejashwi Yadav himself skipped Rahul Gandhi’s rally a day earlier.
Addressing a press conference, Kharge also questioned the “absence” of Kumar in Modi’s roadshow in Patna and poll rallies elsewhere in Bihar, and asserted that the BJP is not going to make him the CM again.
“PM Modi and Kumar have been in their posts for 11 and 20 years, respectively, still they talk about jungle raaj. Even after 20 years of running the government in Bihar, how can they talk about ‘jungle raj’. This shows that the PM has nothing to say about his works… what he had done for Bihar,” he said.
It appears that the Prime Minister has nothing to say about education, health, employment, price rise, MSP and investment, the Congress leader claimed.
“Kumar was not seen along with the PM in his rallies on Sunday. He was also missing from the PM’s roadshow in Patna. It’s clear that Nitish would not become the CM again. Modi does not talk about making Kumar the CM. This is Modi’s strategy to sink Kumar,” he claimed.
When asked about the PM’s ‘katta’ remark made on Sunday, Kharge said, “Was Modi present when it happened? What kind of language is the PM using? No one can intimidate Congress, nor is Congress afraid of anyone. Our grand alliance is moving forward with respect and friendship.”
Priyanka Targets PM Modi
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who addressed rallies in Saharsa and Lakhisarai and held a roadshow in Samastipur, took direct aim at the prime minister.
Accusing Modi of “whining” about insults from opposition leaders, she sarcastically suggested that he set up an “Apmaan Mantralaya” (Ministry of Insults) to handle his grievances.
Yogi, Akhilesh Exchange Barbs
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held four rallies in Bihar, where he used sharp humor to attack his rivals. Referring to Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Yogi dubbed them “Pappu, Tappu, and Akku,” and likened them to Mahatma Gandhi’s “three monkeys” who “can neither see, hear, nor speak of NDA’s good work.”
Akhilesh Yadav hit back on X, saying the monk-turned-politician had “changed his dwelling, attire, and even name,” and predicted Yogi’s defeat in Uttar Pradesh’s next polls.
