Bihar Govt failed to give jobs, youth keen on bringing Rahul Gandhi to power: Tejashwi Yadav

The two leaders alleged that the state’s “rickety” NDA government had failed to provide jobs or dignity to the state’s youth, while the BJP at the Centre was working to hand over the country’s resources to a few billionaires.

Addressing packed gatherings in Gaya and Nawada, the Mahagathbandhan leaders said the yatra was not only about protecting the right to vote, but also about securing employment and opportunity for the next generation.

“The youth of Bihar have decided that it is time for a change. This state belongs to farmers, labourers, small traders and the youth, not to Adani and Ambani,” Gandhi said. He was accompanied by Tejashwi Yadav and CPI (ML) Liberation’s Dipankar Bhattacharya.

Yadav further said that people had resolved to bring Gandhi to power as the Prime Minister in the next General Election. “Nitish Kumar’s government has become rickety. It has no vision left. Bihar’s youth deserve to take the wheel now. We will remove this old, crumbling regime and ensure Rahul Gandhi leads the country,” he told the crowd in Nawada.

Both leaders linked the political battle in Bihar to a larger fight against economic inequality. Gandhi alleged that the Modi government had used demonetisation, GST and privatisation to enrich a handful of corporates, while leaving ordinary people jobless.

“You give your sweat and resources, but in return you don’t get employment. This must change. That is why we are marching with you,” he said.

While the speeches focussed on the aspirations of the youth, leaders also kept up their attack on the Election Commission. Gandhi alleged that the EC and the BJP were running a “partnership” to disenfranchise voters. At Bhagat Singh Chowk, he invited a man whose name had been deleted from the electoral rolls to speak.

The man said he had voted as a polling agent in the Lok Sabha elections, but was now struck off the list during the special intensive revision exercise.

“There are lakhs of such people in Bihar. They are taking away your voter card, then they will snatch your ration card, and finally your land will go to Adani and Ambani. We will not let them commit this theft,” the Congress leader said.

He alleged that similar manipulation had already taken place in Haryana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. “In Maharashtra, one crore voters were mysteriously added between the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. When we demanded a machine-readable voters’ list and CCTV footage, the Election Commission flatly refused,” he said.

Warning the poll body of consequences, Gandhi declared that once the INDIA bloc forms government, the Chief Election Commissioner and his colleagues would be held accountable.

The Yatra, which entered Nawada from Gaya on Tuesday, is being conducted partly on foot and partly by vehicle. It will culminate with a rally in Patna on September 1.

The Congress is seeing it as both an assertion of electoral rights and an early campaign for its alliance ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls.

By linking disenfranchisement with unemployment and inequality, Gandhi and Yadav projected their campaign as a generational call to urge Bihar’s youth to reclaim both their votes and their future.