After more than two decades, Congress flags dominated at a Bihar event, along with the RJD’s, even as other INDIA bloc allies turned up to show their support. The Trinamool Congress, which is chary of being seen too close to the Congress and Left, especially so close to the West Bengal elections, also sent a representative in its MP Yusuf Pathan.
Among others present were Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, INDIA partner and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren of the JMM, the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut, as well as the Congress-RJD’s Mahagathbandhan partners, Vikassheel Insaan Party chief chief Mukesh Sahni, and CPI (M-L) Liberation supremo Dipankar Bhattacharya.
Other INDIA leaders, such as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin of the DMK and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav joined the yatra at different legs through its journey from Sasaram. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the party’s Telangana CM, Revanth Reddy, also made an appearance during the yatra.
The final leg of the march on Monday covered a 1-km distance between Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan and the Babasaheb Ambedkar statue at Dak Bungalow Square. Thousands started gathering at the Maidan from Sunday onwards for the rally, and it took INDIA leaders two-and-a-half hours to cover the 1-km distance to the Ambedkar statue.
The Vote Adhikar Rally wrapped up with speeches by all top INDIA bloc leaders, with Gandhi repeating his slogan of “Vote chor, gaddi chhor (The thief of votes, give up the chair)”. “Ye naara chal gaya hai (This slogan has hit home)… I want to caution the youth of Bihar that vote theft would mean the taking away of your rights, as well as of reservation, employment and good education. The forces that had killed Mahatma Gandhi are trying to kill the Constitution of Gandhi,” the Congress leader said.
Attacking BJP supporters, Gandhi said: “Some people tried to show us black flags. Have you heard of the atom bomb? My revelation on the vote theft in Karnataka was an atom bomb. Just vote now for ‘hydrogen bomb’, a bigger revelation on vote theft.” Calling Bihar a “land of revolutionaries”, Gandhi reiterated that the Congress had worked meticulously since the Lok Sabha elections and the Maharashtra Assembly polls to find a pattern of “vote theft”, and zeroed in on an Assembly segment of Karnataka, Mahadevapura, that allegedly saw “one lakh forged votes”. This was described by him as an atom bomb, with Gandhi claiming that the “hydrogen bomb” by the party next would show the BJP government in “worse light”.
Kharge said: “The BJP tried to obstruct the Voter Adhikar Yatra, but Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav did not get cowed down. (Narendra) Modi hamesha se chori karne ki aadat rakhte hain. Satark nahim rahe, (toh) Modi aur Shah aapko dubayenge (Modi has always had a habit of stealing. If you don’t remain vigilant, Modi and Amit Shah will take away what is yours).”
Tejashwi virtually declared himself the INDIA bloc CM candidate, asking the people whether they wanted “the original CM” i.e. him or “the duplicate CM”, i.e. incumbent Nitish Kumar of the JD(U). The RJD leader has dubbed Nitish thus for allegedly “copying” schemes and initiatives first announced by the RJD.
“This government follows Tejashwi. I promised Rs 1,500 social security, the state government raised it to Rs 1,100 per month. I promised 200 MW free electricity, the government announced 125 MW free power. I talked about helping women, the state government announced Rs 10,000 assistance per woman entrepreneur in each family… This is a copycat government. Tejashwi sets the agenda and the government follows,” the RJD leader said.
They could copy him, but where would they get the vision from, Tejashwi asked, adding that he was not one to be cowed easily. “I am the son of Lalu Prasad who had stopped L K Advani’s rath (during his 1990 yatra). His blood runs through my veins.”
Invoking Bihar’s political consciousness, the RJD leader said: “Bihar is the seat of the Republic. Now two people from Gujarat (implying Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah) are trying to kill democracy. But they do not know that Bihar’s people are very good at seeing through guiles… One engine of this double-engine government (with the NDA in power in both the state and at the Centre) is stuck in crime and another engine is stuck in corruption.”
In their speeches, Soren and CPI (M-L) Liberation’s Bhattacharya said Bihar had started witnessing winds of change. “The Bihar polls will set the agenda for the country,” Soren said.
Various social groups were also present at Monday’s march, including Rajput leader Shailendra Pratap Singh, who heads the Saran Vikas Manch. He claimed he had come to Gandhi Maidan with over 3,000 people from Saran. “It is a myth that Rajput votes are a pocketborough of the NDA. We are with INDIA,” Singh said.