Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday concluded his extensive campaign for the Bihar assembly elections, asserting that the people have delivered a “65-volt jhatka” to the opposition INDIA bloc in the first phase and that its leaders are now spending “sleepless nights.”
Addressing his final rally in Bettiah, West Champaran, Modi seemed confident of an NDA victory, citing the high voter turnout of 65.09 per cent across 121 assembly segments on November 6 in favour of the ruling coalition. He urged voters to “break the record of the first phase on November 11” and ensure that the NDA not only wins all seats but establishes a lead in every booth.
Modi, who held 14 rallies across the state and a roadshow in Patna in less than a month, reflected on his campaign journey. “I had started my campaign by visiting the birthplace of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, and today I am bringing it to a close at the land where Bapu Gandhi transformed into the Mahatma,” he said. He promised to return for the swearing-in ceremony of a new NDA government.
“My campaign ends today but canvassing will continue tomorrow. But voters’ job begins on the day of polling. I will come again for the swearing in of an NDA government,” the Prime Minister added.
Modi, accompanied by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar only at his inaugural rally in Samastipur, showered encomiums on the JD(U) supremo for having ended “jungle raj” in the state. He used the metaphor of “katta”, a country-made pistol, to describe what he alleged would be the opposition’s high-handedness if they came to power.
Charging the main opposition parties, Modi said they had pointed a country-made, unlicensed pistol at the head of the Congress when it refused to back Tejashwi Yadav as the Chief Ministerial candidate. Without naming leaders, he also referred to “royal families” running the opposition, calling one party “most corrupt in the country” and the other “most corrupt in Bihar.”
He voiced alarm over the opposition’s poll campaign, during which children reportedly came on stage declaring they wished to become “rangdaar” (street bullies), armed with unlicensed pistols and double-barrel guns. “People are not voting for jungle raj wallahs because they know if these people come to power they will hold a katta at the head of the public with the order to hold hands up. People of Bihar do not want hands up but start-ups, which only the NDA can facilitate,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was lampooned as a “Congress ke naamdaar” practising “drowning,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to his recent plunge into a muddy pond to interact with fishermen. Gandhi’s allegations of “vote theft” were dismissed as “net practice for finding an excuse following defeat in Bihar,” while his criticism of Modi’s aborted plan to take a dip in the Yamuna during Chhath was called “an insult” to one of the state’s most popular festivals.
Modi also deftly used the Hindutva narrative to question the INDIA bloc’s pro-deprived caste stance. He alleged that reluctance of opposition leaders to visit Ayodhya, which houses not just the Ram temple but also shrines dedicated to Maharshi Valmiki, Mata Shabri, and Nishad Raj, was due to “hatred for Dalits and backwards.”
The opposition coalition was also repeatedly charged with “protecting infiltrators,” whom the central government aimed to remove under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls completed days before polls were announced. The opposition countered that no infiltrators were detected during the exercise and claimed the term “ghuspaithya” was a dog whistle targeting Muslims, who constitute nearly 17 per cent of Bihar’s population, with a sizeable presence in Seemanchal.
During his speeches, Modi also referenced the abrogation of Article 370, Operation Sindoor, Triple Talaq, and Waqf laws, charging the opposition with “capitulation before religious extremists” for not supporting the government. He touched upon the issue of migration, which has been highlighted as a major poll concern by Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor.
The Prime Minister promised that the NDA, if returned to power, would ensure “sons of Bihar get employed on home soil and make their motherland proud.” He expressed delight at the sight of women turning out in large numbers at rallies and polling booths. “Our mothers and sisters have been the worst sufferers of jungle raj,” Modi said, noting that the high turnout of “matri shakti” had effectively built a “fortress around polling booths to keep jungle raj at bay.”