Samastipur: A volatile day on the Bihar campaign trail saw rallies by Bhojpuri stars Pawan Singh and Khesari Lal Yadav draw huge crowds, prompting a violent turn at one meeting and a mid-air scare at another.
In Purnia, actor-singer Pawan Singh led a roadshow in support of the NDA candidate, singing popular Bhojpuri numbers as supporters thronged the streets. His performance was aimed at rallying voters ahead of the second phase of polling. The BJP said the turnout reflected “overwhelming support” for the alliance.
But in Motihari’s Chiraiya constituency, a rally by Khesari Lal Yadav, campaigning for the Grand Alliance, spiralled out of control. As crowds surged toward the stage, police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse what they described as an “unmanageable and unsafe situation”. No major injuries were reported.
The chaos compounded when Khesari Lal’s helicopter malfunctioned, forcing him to abandon air travel and drive to his next event in Sheohar. “We will not bow down. The more you try to break us, the stronger we become,” he told supporters, singing lines such as “Bihar Lalu ke bina nahi chal sakta.”
Earlier in the day, Khesari Lal met BJP MP Manoj Tiwari at Patna airport, touching his feet in a gesture of respect before the two embraced. Responding to comments by JJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav, Khesari said: “He is my elder brother. I’m the son of a poor man. I don’t have the means to answer everyone.”
Meanwhile, in a separate political exchange, an AAP candidate publicly questioned AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s role in the Bihar election, accusing him of dividing votes—remarks that sparked a brief war of words online.
