NDA wants to win Bihar elections through vote chori: Priyanka

Congress MP and general-secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday, 5 November, accused the ruling NDA coalition of attempting to form the Bihar government through ‘vote chori’ (theft), pointing out that 65 lakh names, many of them women, have been deleted from electoral rolls via the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). She alleged that the NDA is resorting to fraud because people are disillusioned after two decades of its rule.

Addressing back-to-back rallies in West Champaran’s Valmiki Nagar and Chanpatia, Priyanka described the current political scenario as reminiscent of the British Raj, expressing doubts over whether future elections will even be conducted. “My brother Rahul has exposed ‘vote theft’ in Haryana,” she said, urging the people of Bihar to reject the NDA.

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she charged that he prioritizes political rivalries over addressing crime, corruption, and youth education in Bihar. She highlighted Modi’s apparent neglect of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at rallies and alleged the NDA’s focus lies more on Congress and RJD leaders Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav than on the youth of Bihar.

Priyanka promised that if the INDIA bloc wins in these elections, the people of Bihar would get free medical treatment up to Rs 25 lakh, one job per poor family, housing or land ownership under women’s names, expanded MGNREGA workdays and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. She criticised the NDA’s Agnipath scheme as short-term and insufficient for youth employment. Additionally, she assured reservations for EBCs and SCs in local bodies to ensure social justice.

Responding to claims of “dynasty politics” by the BJP-led NDA, the Congress MP issued a fierce rebuttal, asserting that detractors fail to appreciate “sacrifices made by our ancestors”. Speaking in Valmiki Nagar, she recalled her great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, who is praised and his legacy celebrated even abroad while he is “insulted” in India.

“The soil is soaked with the blood of your forefathers and ours,” she said. “This is not parivarvaad (family politics), but our dharma towards the nation.” Priyanka recalled her late father Rajiv Gandhi and grandmother Indira Gandhi’s martyrdom and called out BJP leaders for maligning Nehru.

She denounced Modi’s accusations of Tejashwi-Rahul's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' being a shield for infiltrators, urging people to reject such baseless charges. “My brother Rahul Gandhi took out the yatra for you, the common people, whose right to vote is at risk,” she said.