Bihar Elections: Final Day of Campaigning Sees Modi, Nitish, Himanta,Tejashwi, Rahul Rally Across State

As campaigning for the first phase of the Bihar elections enters its final day, parties have intensified their efforts, with political leaders from across the country arriving in the state to rally voter support.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday interact with women workers of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar as part of the party’s ‘Mera Booth Sabse Majboot’ initiative.

“Women’s power in Bihar is working with extraordinary energy and commitment to ensure the victory of the BJP-NDA in the assembly elections,” Modi said on X.

Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta departed for Bihar on Monday evening and will campaign for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates across more than a dozen constituencies over a three-day tour. This would be her third visit to poll-bound Bihar.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to address public meetings in Supaul, Khagaria, Begusarai, and Patna, while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hold a rally in Gopalganj. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will campaign in Raghunathpur, Siwan, The Daily Jagran reported.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is set to hold three election rallies today in Gaya, Aurangabad, and Kutumba.

Among the BJP’s top leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda are also campaigning in Bihar today.  

Shah will address three meetings in Darbhanga, East Champaran, and West Champaran. Rajnath Singh will speak at rallies in Raghopur, Fatuha, Simri Bakhtiyarpur, and Tarapur, while Nadda will begin with a meeting in Bhojpur, followed by a roadshow in Darbhanga and further events in Mohiuddinnagar, Lakhisarai, and Baikundhpur constituencies, India Today reported.

The BJP is contesting the Bihar elections as part of the NDA alongside Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United). The ruling alliance faces a challenge from the opposition Mahagathbandhan, which includes the RJD and the Congress, with Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate.

Yadav on Tuesday announced a one-time financial assistance of Rs 30,000 for women and expanded benefits for farmers if his coalition comes to power in Bihar.

Yadav made the announcement at a press conference as campaigning for the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections entered its final stage.

"After we form the government, on Makar Sankranti (January 14) we will deposit Rs 30,000 for an entire year into the accounts of women under the Mai Bahin Maan Yojana," he said.

The RJD leader also said that if voted into power, his government would provide incentive to farmers, “an additional payment of Rs 300 per quintal over and above the MSP for paddy, and an additional Rs 400 per quintal over and above the MSP for wheat." 

He added that whether it is paddy or wheat, the current government does not provide farmers with MSP properly. “The middlemen are the ones who benefit,” he said.  

Yadav will campaign in Darbhanga, Begusarai, Vaishali, and Raghopur, while national president of the Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav, is scheduled to address public meetings in Gaya, Aubra, and Aurangabad, India Today reported.

On its penultimate day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are also reaching out to voters across the state.

Addressing election rallies in Saharsa and Lakhisarai districts, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday criticised the Prime Minister for repeatedly claiming that the opposition leaders insult the country and Bihar, taking a jibe at his that he should set up a new ministry, the ‘Apamaan Mantralaya’ (Ministry of Insults).

“Instead of talking about development, the prime minister keeps accusing every opposition leader of insulting the country. He should form a new ministry, ‘Apamaan Mantralaya’, because that’s what his government seems most focused on,” she said.

Polling in Bihar will take place in two phases — 121 constituencies will vote on November 6, and the remaining 122 on November 11. The results will be announced on November 14.