Challenge PM Modi to hold free and fair polls, see who wins: Priyanka

Congress MP and general-secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday, 6 November, issued a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, daring them to hold free and fair elections, and to see who wins.

At a Bihar Assembly election campaign rally in Benipatti, Priyanka said: "I challenge Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah ji and their ministers. Conduct impartial elections, and let's see who wins. The truth is, they are all cowards who are afraid of you. When you fight for your rights, they beat you up and throw you in jail. They're afraid of you, they're afraid of your vote."

She also accused the NDA of preparing to "steal" Bihar’s Assembly polls, echoing her brother and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's claims of electoral fraud from Haryana last year.

Addressing rallies in Sitamarhi and East Champaran districts, Priyanka alleged that the Election Commission of india (ECI) was complicit with the government in undermining constitutional rights and democracy by deleting 65 lakh voters from Bihar’s electoral rolls.

“Just like they stole the Haryana election, they are preparing to do the same in Bihar,” she alleged. These claims tie back to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that 25 lakh fake entries in Haryana’s voter list were part of a BJP-EC conspiracy to rig polls.

At an election rally in Motihari, Priyanka also asserted that if the Bihar polls are conducted in a free and fair manner, the state's incumbent NDA government will be uprooted, and replaced by a dispensation that would work for the poor, women and the youth.

The Wayanad MP praised Rahul’s efforts to fight for democracy and likened his struggle to that of Mahatma Gandhi. She warned that betrayers of the nation would not go unpunished.

Strongly criticising chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners Vivek Joshi and S.S. Sandhu, she accused them of “mocking the Constitution” and warned that their retirement wouldn’t bring them immunity.

She also condemned the BJP for prioritising religious rhetoric over development and alleged neglect of Bihar’s people, who have contributed significantly to India’s progress.

Highlighting governance issues, she noted that 27 bridges in Bihar collapsed over three years. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she questioned his fixation on Opposition images on campaign posters instead of real problems.

Priyanka vowed that the INDIA bloc would offer free health coverage up to Rs 25 lakh, reduce LPG cylinder costs to Rs 500, provide Rs 2,500 monthly to women, and grant land or housing in women’s names to poor families. Pensions for the elderly, widows and disabled persons would also be increased with annual increments, she said.

With agency inputs