NDA, INDIA engage in open battle in Bihar as polls close in

Patna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed rallies in a fiery contest on the penultimate day of campaign for the first phase of the elections.

Modi addressed rallies in Saharsa and Katihar districts, bringing the tally of election meetings addressed by him to eight. In addition, he also participated in a road show in the state capital a day ago.

The Prime Minister alleged that Congress's agreement to declare Tejashwi Yadav as chief minister was due to pressure from the RJD, led by Lalu Prasad, whose pictures, Modi alleged, were missing from party posters in a bid to "hide his sins". He said that the move came after a 'katta' (country-made gun) was pointed at the Congress by the RJD.

Amit Shah, who attended several rallies since the polls were announced on October 6, addressed three more election meetings in the districts of Sheohar, Madhubani and Sitamarhi, all bordering Nepal. He predicted an emphatic NDA victory and claimed that, on November 14, when the votes are counted, "it will be clear by 1 pm" that the INDIA bloc has been "wiped out".

Shah was spotted breaking bread with JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and others in a clip shared by news channels, during his extended stay in Madhubani to enjoy a traditional Maithili dinner.

Kharge, on the other hand, addressed a press conference in Patna after his maiden election rally in Vaishali district.

He charged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president, with "sitting in the lap of pro-Manu Smriti BJP" and claimed that the state's longest-serving CM's absence at rallies of the Prime Minister and the road show pointed towards a "conspiracy" by the saffron party, which allegedly wanted to deny him another term in office.

Responding to Kharge's remarks, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad pointed out that Tejashwi Yadav, too, was absent from the rally of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday.

Addressing rallies in Saharsa and Lakhisarai districts and a road show in Samastipur, Priyanka Gandhi accused Modi of whining about alleged insults hurled at him by opposition leaders. She suggested that the PM set up an 'Apmaan Mantraalay', a ministry dedicated to dealing with his perceived humiliations.

The most sought-after BJP campaigner, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, addressed four rallies in different districts. He slammed Tejashwi Yadav and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, his principal rival in Uttar Pradesh, calling them "Pappu, Tappu and Akku".

Comparing the three figures to the "three monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi", he alleged the opposition leaders "can neither see, nor hear, nor speak of any good work done by NDA".

Akhilesh Yadav, who has also been campaigning in Bihar, responded with a post on X in which he did not name Yogi, but targeted the monk-turned-politician for having "changed his dwelling place, attire and even name", declaring that he will be voted out in the next assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Responding to questions about PM's 'katta' jibe and the claim that Prasad's photos were not on RJD posters, Tejashwi Yadav said that "Never before has a prime minister used such language", and asked Modi to have some respect for his father Lalu Prasad, "who did a fantastic job as a Railway Minister".

The day also witnessed a roadshow by former Union minister Smriti Irani, a firebrand BJP leader who has been lying low since she lost her Amethi seat to a less-fancied Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha polls last year.

(With PTI inputs)