Congress frames Nitish versus Tejashwi contest, while BJP plans to highlight Nitish’s recently announced schemes with significant fanfare.
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to lead Congress’s new Bihar campaign focusing on Nitish Kumar’s 20-year rule and local issues (Photo: ANI)
NEW DELHI: Congress has formulated a fresh strategy for the upcoming Bihar elections, shifting its focus more on local issues. The party aims to frame the election as a Nitish Kumar vs Tejashwi Yadav contest. There is going to be limited criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and slogans like “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” (Vote Thief, Leave the Throne) will be sidelined.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will lead the campaign efforts. However, tensions within the Grand Alliance have risen after Mukesh Sahni of the VIP Party staked claim to 40 seats. Rahul Gandhi had to intervene from abroad to ease the situation, and it is now expected that the alliance will move forward smoothly.
Congress has finalized candidates for 50 to 55 seats and may contest friendly elections in some areas, potentially splitting votes between BJP and JDU candidates. This time, Congress is contesting with a completely revamped strategy focusing on local issues.
The BJP’s strategy is largely set as well. Following the Madhya Pradesh model, the party plans to highlight Nitish Kumar’s recently announced schemes with significant fanfare. The RSS has taken responsibility for Bihar and is likely to play a key role. Similar to Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP will emphasize Prime Minister Modi at the forefront, framing the election as Modi versus Rahul Gandhi.
During Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Rights Yatra, the narrative was Modi versus Rahul. However, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav shifted the focus toward local issues. Slogans like “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” are expected to fade.
Rahul and Tejashwi will hold rallies together, while Priyanka Gandhi will also campaign alongside other alliance parties. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to limit his involvement due to health concerns. Priyanka will focus on women’s issues, while Rahul will highlight the concerns of backward and extremely backward classes. The issue of intensive voter list scrutiny has been resolved.
Congress’s new campaign, titled “Bihar 20 Saal Vinash Kaal” (Bihar: 20 Years of Decline), highlights the deterioration under Nitish Kumar’s 20-year rule. The campaign addresses pressing local problems such as paper leaks, corruption, rising unemployment, migration, scams, atrocities against women, backward classes, Dalits, and the poor state of health services.
The party’s strategy is to target Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and emphasize Bihar’s plight to create a direct contest between Nitish and Tejashwi, minimizing the BJP and JDU’s influence.
Once campaigning begins after seat-sharing agreements, it will be evident whether Rahul Gandhi abandons the old slogan and fully embraces local issues. Prior to his foreign tour, Rahul emphasized issues related to the extremely backward classes and hinted that constitutional and reservation matters will also be central to the campaign.
