Begusarai: Union home minister Amit Shah has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of prioritising “infiltrators” from Bangladesh over the development of Bihar, as he addressed a series of rallies aimed at energising Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers ahead of the state elections.
Speaking in Begusarai, Shah described Gandhi’s recent political tour as a “‘defend the infiltrators’ campaign”, claiming it had nothing to do with issues such as education, employment or infrastructure. “The agenda was to protect the infiltrators who have come from Bangladesh,” he told party workers, whom he hailed as the “real owners” of the BJP.
Shah also launched an attack on the RJD and its leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, calling them a “threat to Bihar’s development”. He alleged that the RJD was shielding illegal migrants for electoral gains, and accused the party of corruption, citing the fodder scam and land-for-jobs scandal.
“Can Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi make Bihar prosperous? They only think about themselves and their family,” Shah said during another address in Rohtas on Thursday. “This election is about forming a government with a three-fourths majority under Modi’s leadership.”
The home minister urged workers to set a target of winning 80% of the seats in the region, arguing that the BJP and its allies must secure at least a two-thirds majority to return to power in the state.
His intervention reflects the BJP’s concern in Shahabad, where the party and its allies fared poorly in recent elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the NDA failed to win a single seat in the region, and in the 2020 state assembly elections, the BJP secured only two constituencies.
Murari Prasad Gautam, a former BJP minister and Chenari MLA, said Shah’s presence would galvanise grassroots activists. “The workers will work in their respective areas with even greater enthusiasm,” he said.
