Bihar Polls: Rahul Gandhi Absent From Mahagathbandhan Presser As Alliance Unveils Joint Manifesto In Patna

The Mahagathbandhan unveiled its joint manifesto in Patna for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan’s CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav, Congress’ Pawan Khera, and CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya in attendance. However, Congress MP and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was absent from the press conference in the poll-bound state.

The manifesto was titled ‘Bihar Ka Tejashwi Prann’. The cover image of the document featured the RJD leader, with Rahul Gandhi’s image placed at the top left. In 2020, however, the alliance had titled its manifesto ‘Prann Humara’.

Rahul Gandhi has not yet visited the poll-bound state of Bihar physically, but on Monday, on the eve of Chhath Puja, he made a digital cameo as he extended greetings in Bhojpuri.

Sharing a video on X, Rahul wrote, “A few days ago, I had a very engaging conversation with the youth of Bihar — on education, health, employment, every issue. And there is only one culprit responsible for their deplorable state: the BJP-JDU government.”

Rahul Gandhi last visited the state when he conducted the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in August for 16 days. During his visit, he covered 110 Assembly constituencies across 25 districts, spanning 1,300 km.

Rahul Gandhi will start the campaign for the Congress on October 29 and 30 in the poll-bound state of Bihar. The grand old party will contest 70 constituencies, the second-highest in the opposition alliance after the RJD’s 144, though it had won only 19 in the previous election.