Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address rallies for the second phase of assembly elections in Bihar on Wednesday. The rallies will coincide with the first of the three-phase polling in the state.
Modi will address meetings in Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, and Patna, where voting will be held in the second phase of balloting on November 3. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will campaign with Modi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been trying to dispel doubts about unity within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which quit the NDA before the polls, has been attacking Kumar and his Janata Dal (United), or JD(U). There has been much speculation about BJP’s tacit support for LJP.
BJP president JP Nadda on Tuesday called LJP’s criticism of Kumar and praise for Modi a “conspiracy” to split votes to benefit the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
“A conspiracy is on these days to berate Nitish Kumar while praising Narendra Modi. This is aimed at splitting votes. You have to be careful. Narendra Modi has been generous in providing assistance to the state,” Nadda said.
Gandhi will address public meetings in West Champaran and Darbhanga. He addressed two rallies earlier on October 23 for the first phase of the polling. His sister and one of the Congress’s star campaigner, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is yet to campaign in the state.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday issued a video message attacking the NDA government in Bihar for its “dictatorial governance”. She accused the NDA of plunging the state into deep distress and said all sections of the society, including Dalits, Mahadalits, and backward classes, were on the brink of destitution.
In the 4.47-minute video, she said she sensed a change in Bihar and appealed to people to vote for the candidates of the RJD-led Grand Alliance that includes the Congress.
“The people are with the Grand Alliance of the Congress. This is the call of Bihar today,” she said.
The third phase of the polling will be held on November 7 and the results will be declared on November 10.
