The Congress on Friday criticised the National Democratic Alliance over its manifesto launch for the Bihar Assembly elections which lasted for “just 26 seconds”.
The BJP’s media department has cited the lack of time during the leaders’ election campaign to justify the short duration of the launch.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh remarked that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not utter a single word at the event, suggesting that “it is possible that he himself has not even read his manifesto properly.”
Bihar Elections 2025: Congress Slams NDA’s ‘26-Second’ Bihar Manifesto Launch
The BJP’s media department has cited the lack of time during the leaders’ election campaign to justify the short duration of the launch.
Summary
The Congress on Friday criticised the National Democratic Alliance over its manifesto launch for the Bihar Assembly elections which lasted for “just 26 seconds”. The senior NDA leaders including Nitish Kumar and JP Nadda posed for photographs with copies of the manifesto before leaving without a word.
The BJP’s media department has cited the lack of time during the leaders’ election campaign to justify the short duration of the launch. Congress, however, tore into the NDA stating that the NDA’s leaders know they are “not returning to power” and therefore found it a “waste of time” to answer the public’s questions.
Deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary stayed back to brief reporters on the key highlights of the 39-page manifesto, but the Opposition asserted that the BJP had “silenced” its ally. “Why wasn’t Nitishji allowed to speak? Why are they even hesitant to mention his name? If they don’t want to project him as chief minister, they should say it openly,” Congress media and publicity department chairperson Pawan Khera said. “For the first time, we’ve seen a sitting chief minister of 20 years being silenced in this way. It’s truly shameful,” The Telegraph reported.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh remarked that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not utter a single word at the event, suggesting that “it is possible that he himself has not even read his manifesto properly.”
Ramesh made the statement on X recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent claim that Bihar’s youth are making social media reels thanks to cheap data, Mr. Ramesh remarked, “Perhaps taking inspiration from that, NDA leaders too wrapped up their press conference in just 26 seconds."
In fact, it is not really their fault — in the last 20 years, they had nothing worthwhile to count in the name of achievement. They also know very well that they are not returning to power after the election, so discussing the manifesto and facing the public’s questions felt like a waste of time to them,” Ramesh added.
Advertisement
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also slammed the NDA, alleging that Mr. Kumar was “not allowed” to speak at the manifesto release, calling it “an insult to Bihar”. “The NDA leaders came to a press conference that lasted merely 26 seconds. They were afraid to face questions from journalists on the manifesto as well as on their governance,” Gehlot said.
Published At: