PATNA, Oct 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge to transform Bihar into a technological hub on one hand has set the tone for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) campaign, putting development at the forefront of the state’s election narrative whereas the rival Grand Alliance (GA) on the other has only just managed to settle its prolonged confusion over the chief ministerial candidate, exposing internal discord ahead of the assembly polls.
While addressing BJP workers of Bihar from New Delhi through virtual mode, the Prime Minister took a pot-shot at the Grand Alliance for its tall promises being made to the people of the state during assembly elections, saying all were hollow ones and an attempt to befool them.
Constituents of Grand Alliance were fighting against one other and they had become ‘lathbandhan’ instead of ‘ gathbandhan ‘, he added.
Senior NDA leaders, including the Prime Minister, have rallied supporters and party workers, highlighting plans to elevate Bihar’s digital infrastructure and boost investment in the IT, startup and industrial sectors.
In contrast, the GA has been dealing with prolonged disagreements over its choice for chief minister. Congress leader Ashok Gehlot travelled to Bihar to mediate discussions within the alliance, aiming to settle ongoing disputes and ensure a united front for the election.
After a long drawn political tussle, hesitation and internal disputes, over the Chief Minister (CM) candidate of the Grand Alliance (GA) the issue was finally resolved today as the Congress Party accepted the condition of RJD for projecting Tejaswi Yadav as CM candidate on the GA.
As it is, for the past few months, Congress has been avoiding formally recognising Tejaswi as the CM face. From Rahul Gandhi to the party’s top leadership, all had been dodging questions from the media regarding Tejaswi’s leadership.
Meanwhile, the alliance witnessed a prolonged phase of disagreements and partial consensus among the RJD, Congress, and other constituent parties over seat sharing. The Congress wanted the Chief Minister to be decided only after the election results.
In fact, Congress had deliberately kept itself away from naming Tejaswi Yadav as the Grand Alliance’s CM face. During the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Purnea, when Rahul Gandhi was asked about Tejaswi, he gave an ambiguous reply. Earlier, Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru and other senior Congress leaders had also repeatedly avoided the question of declaring Tejaswi as the CM candidate.
The internal conflict came out in the open during the nomination phases for the first and second rounds of the Bihar elections. On several seats, the alliance partners fielded their own candidates against each other, leading to “friendly contests.”
The friction between the RJD and Congress deepened further, prompting the party’s high command to send senior leader Ashok Gehlot to Patna for reconciliation. Upon his arrival, Gehlot met RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejaswi Yadav separately. Following these meetings, the deadlock was resolved.
By agreeing to project Tejaswi Yadav as the CM face and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani as the Deputy CM, Congress cleared all lingering confusion. The party, which had been avoiding the CM face issue until now, finally gave in to the RJD’s demand.
In just ten days, Congress, once adamant on its stand was forced to surrender. Despite multiple rounds of talks between leaders in Patna and Delhi, the matter remained unresolved, leading Grand Alliance partners to start filing nominations without a formal seat-sharing agreement.
Tejaswi asserted his dominance by fielding RJD candidates on 143 seats, while Congress, acting independently, announced 61 candidates of its own. Tensions escalated when Tejashwi made it clear that he would not negotiate further unless he was officially declared the CM face.
This situation fueled the narrative that the Grand Alliance lacked unity. In the end, the Congress had to reverse its earlier position, not only accepting Tejaswi Yadav as the Grand Alliance’s chief ministerial candidate but also agreeing to offer the Deputy CM post to Mukesh Sahani, the VIP chief who does not currently hold any assembly seat.
Meanwhile Gehlot, who is in Patna to settle the internal bickering with the RJD, demanded from the NDA to also declare its chief ministerial face.
Accusing the BJP, he said that in Maharashtra, the party fought elections under Eknath Shinde’s leadership, but later everyone saw what happened. Similarly, in Bihar too, they will not make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister.
Earlier during the day, the Prime Minister while addressing the party workers and supporters highlighted the NDA government’s focus on innovation, job creation, and digital infrastructure, asserting that Bihar will emerge as a new centre of technology and industry in eastern India.
He said that Bihar’s youth will play a key role in shaping India’s technological future.
Modi said that the youths of the state would not be required to migrate to other parts of the country in search of jobs and livelihood, if NDA was voted back to power in ongoing assembly elections.
“There would be ample job opportunities for youths of Bihar and they would excel in their professional career in the state itself,” Prime Minister said adding that there was no job for youths during the RJD regime as there was a ” jungle raj ” in the state in that period of 15 years.
People of Bihar would not forget the lawlessness of ” Jungle Raj “, even in the next hundred years, he remarked.
The PM also outlined various development oriented welfare measures already launched and exhorted BJP workers to aware the people about them.
“On polling day, workers should remain alert to ensure that every voter must exercise their franchise by reaching their booths on time,”the Prime Minister said adding that the next twenty days were important in view of elections and asked the BJP workers to work hard so that NDA could form the government again.
While NDA’s campaign emphasises sustainable development, technological modernisation, and economic growth for Bihar’s future, the GA, now overcoming its leadership impasse, is shifting its focus from internal negotiations to public outreach and electoral strategy.
(UNI)
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