Has Mahagathbandhan gained campaign momentum? Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav to address joint rallies
Moving ahead: Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav at the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ | Rahul R. Pattom
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address two rallies in Bihar, marking the formal launch of his campaign for the assembly elections 2025.
The rallies will be held in Sakra (Muzaffarpur) and Darbhanga, where the Rae Bareli MP will share the stage with Mahagathbandhan’s chief minister candidate Tejashwi Yadav.
The opposition bloc would be keen to make the event a show of unity, as there have been reports of discord within the alliance over seat-sharing.
The BJP and its allies had targeted the grand alliance over its “inability to reach a consensus” and claimed a rift between Rahul and Tejashwi.
Moreover, the alliance has fielded multiple candidates in more than half a dozen seats, giving ammunition to the ruling front to allege that the opposition has failed to behave like a cohesive bloc.
According to the final candidate lists, Congress has fielded candidates for 61 seats, nine fewer than it contested in the 2020 assembly elections, and the RJD will contest 143 seats, compared to 144 in the last election.
Rahul will first address a public meeting in Sakra, where he will campaign for Congress candidate Umesh Kumar Ram. In Darbhanga, Rahul and Tejaswhi will jointly hold another rally, extending their appeal for alliance candidates contesting from the Mithilanchal region.
Earlier, the BJP had taken potshots at the INDIA bloc over Rahul’s absence from the election scene, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already addressed two rallies in Samastipur and Begusarai districts.
The Congress leaders, however, dismissed reports of a rift in the alliance and said Tejashwi, being the CM face, will lead the alliance in the campaign.
"The Bihar assembly election is a state election. So, top state-level leaders from the Congress will be present, and since Tejashwi is the face of the election, he will lead the alliance in the state. There is no rift between the two,” a senior Congress leader told THE WEEK.
The 243-member Bihar assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with results set to be announced on November 14.
India