Rahul Gandhi to camp in poll-bound Bihar from Aug 9 as 'Mahagathabandhan' aims to dethrone Nitish

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to begin a 17-day campaign in poll-bound Bihar from August 9 to protest Election Commission's (EC's) special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls in the state.

Party sources informed that the Leader of Opposition (LOP) in Lok Sabha would begin the campaign soon after Rakshabandhan and was expected to be joined by other leaders of the 'Mahagathbandhan', including RJD's Tejashwi Yadav. A Congress leader said Rahul was expected to launch his campaign from either Kaimur or Rohtas district, adding that the final route for the rally was yet to be finalised.

Rahul will also spend a night in the Naxal-affected area at Adhaura of Kaimur district, they said. Besides, he would hold go to the village and talk to the tribals, he informed.

The 'Mahagathbandhan' or INDIA-alliance, led by the Congress, is pushing hard to dethrone the JDU-BJP government in the state.

After the festival, Tejashwi-Rahul will come out with the leaders of the Grand Alliance to create a political atmosphere against the Nitish Kumar-led government, said a Congress leader in Delhi.

Before the Bihar elections, the leaders of the Grand Alliance will be seen writing the story of winning the political battle by travelling and rallying in all divisions of the state, he said.

The Bihar Assembly elections are likely to be held in October-November. In such a situation, the leaders of the Grand Alliance have fully geared up to defeat the NDA.

Earlier this week, a meeting of the Grand Alliance was held at Tejashwi Yadav's Patna residence, in which it was decided to organise a joint tour of Tejashwi-Rahul Gandhi in Bihar.

“Also, leaders of all constituent parties of the Grand Alliance will go among the people and we will hold rallies. In this way, a strategy has been made to get an edge in the Bihar election campaign,” said the leader.

Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi had taken to the streets of Patna this month to protest against the ongoing SIR of the voter list in Bihar. By marching from Patna's Income Tax roundabout to the Election Commission office, both leaders had worked to instill enthusiasm and passion among leaders and workers of the Grand Alliance. On the same lines, the duo has decided to take to the streets of Bihar “to oust Nitish Kumar from power”.

They will also be seen addressing various public meetings to tell people that Nitish Kumar's government had “failed” as it “did nothing” even after being in power for 20 years.

Congress leaders said in 2020, Tejashwi single-handedly made life difficult for Nitish Kumar. Tejashwi Yadav could not come to power due to the poor performance of Congress, but this time Rahul Gandhi is already active, they said. Rahul Gandhi has toured Bihar half a dozen times and has sharpened the issue of social justice. The duo is focused on Dalit, OBC and minority votes.