Patna: Campaigning for the 2025 Bihar assembly election gathered pace on Saturday, with major political leaders fanning out across the state to court voters. Union home minister Amit Shah led the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) campaign, addressing rallies in Khagaria, Munger and Nalanda, while chief minister Nitish Kumar held public meetings in Buxar and Phulwari Sharif. Meanwhile, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav continued his series of rallies for the Mahagathbandhan alliance, adding to the state’s charged political atmosphere.
Speaking at a rally in Khagaria, Shah declared that the election would determine “whether Bihar wants the return of jungle raj or the rule of development”. He credited the NDA government with freeing Bihar from Naxal violence and accused the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of wanting to drag the state backwards. “If Lalu-Rabri rule returns, so will jungle raj,” he said, urging voters to “use their vote wisely”. Shah also likened the NDA partners to “five Pandavas” and called on supporters to bless the alliance with victory.
At another event, Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan Prasad launched a sharp attack on the RJD and Tejashwi Yadav, saying the people of Bihar would not return to the “lantern era”. Responding to Yadav’s claim that he could “transform Bihar in 20 months”, Prasad said such statements risked reviving a “gun culture”. He accused the RJD of being a “careless alliance” mired in corruption cases, while praising Nitish Kumar’s leadership for creating jobs and sustaining Bihar’s development trajectory.
