PATNA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could only be defeated if all members of the opposition grand alliance worked together in the elections. He emphasised, “If we contest the elections separately, the NDA will have the advantage.”
Gandhi made the observation while addressing the office-bearers at the historical Sadaquat Ashram during his day-long visit to Bihar. He said the Assembly elections were significant not only for the state but also for the whole nation.
“Bihar will open the doors of change for the nation,” he said, exhorting the leaders to work unitedly with their alliance partners.
Sources quoted Gandhi as saying that those willing to seek party tickets for the assembly elections, due in October-November, should have 50,000 plus followers on their social media accounts.
The Congress leader reached the Sadaquat Ashram in the afternoon after addressing ‘Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan’ at S K Memorial Hall in Patna. Before that, he participated in the ‘Palayan Roko, Naukri Do’ yatra in Begusarai. He spent about half an hour with the office-bearers and other senior leaders at Sadaquat Ashram before wrapping up his visit.
Soon after Gandhi left the venue after meeting with state officer-bearers, chaos erupted at the party headquarters. The trouble started when some media persons spotted a man with a pamphlet supporting the Waqf Amendment Bill. Congress workers said that the man was not associated with their party.
The man introduced himself as Ram Babu Yadav, a resident of Bhojpur district. Yadav was then driven out of the party office premises.
When former Bihar Congress chief and Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh was asked about the incident, he refused to comment, saying he had to catch a Delhi flight.