Amid preparations for the Bihar Assembly elections, Union Minister Amit Shah on Friday met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his residence in Patna, the last day of nomination for the first phase of elections to the 243-member state assembly.
Voting for Bihar elections 2025 will take place on November 6 and 11. The results will be declared on 14 November.
NDA has finalized its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. BJP and Janata Dal (United) will contest elections on 101-101 seats.
Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) have been allotted six seats each, while Union minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest on 29 seats.
On Thursday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP’s star campaigner Yogi Adityanath entered the electoral fray in Bihar and addressed rallies in support of BJP’s Ramkripal Yadav (Danapur) and NDA’s Shyam Rajak (Phulwari Sharif).
Meanwhile, the Congress party released its first list of 48 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
According to an official statement issued on Thursday, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Rajesh Ram will contest from Kutumba assembly seat, while Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan will contest from Kadwa constituency.
Of the total 48 candidates, 24 will contest in the first phase of elections and 24 in the second phase of elections. The party said that the remaining names will be announced in due course of time.
On Thursday, Amit Shah said Lalu Prasad Yadav has “no right” to seek account of the work done by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar. Instead, he should seek account of the murders, kidnappings and ransom cases that took place during his tenure.
Taking a dig at the opposition parties and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Shah challenged the leaders to prove whether they have done even 1/10th of the work of the NDA during their tenure.
Shah said, “Today I will ask the opposition. Forget even half of what we have done. If you have done even one tenth of the work, then stand at the intersection of Patna, the president of our youth wing will answer you in the count of two. What account is Lalu ji demanding? If he has to demand an account, then he can only ask for murder, kidnapping or ransom. How can you ask for the account of roads, houses, toilets?”
Criticizing the RJD for allegedly doing a dismal job in the state, Minister Shah pointed out how the NDA has constructed new airports, created the Makhana Board, and also worked to control the floods of the Kosi river.
Shah said, “Look at the condition of the airports you left here. We built new airports, in Gaya, Purnia and now another new airport is being built, this is what we have done. We have created the Makhana Board. We have allocated more than Rs 26,000 crore from the Government of India budget to deal with Kosi river floods. We have built roads worth Rs 3 lakh crore.”
He said that the NDA has also ensured that electricity and water reach every house in Bihar.
Shah said, “If electricity has reached every house in Bihar, the Nitish Kumar government is responsible for it. If water has reached every house, it is because of the Narendra Modi government.”