Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on a boat to participate in traditional method fishing in a pond in Begusarai, Bihar on November 2, 2025. Also present is VIP Chief and Deputy CM Mahagathbandhan facing Mukesh Sahani. | Photo credit: ANI
Congress President Rahul Gandhi said in poll-bound Bihar on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is not only afraid of Trump (US President Donald Trump) but is also controlled at a distance by big businessmen like Ambani and Adani. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar campaigned for senior state BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who was once his bitter critic, while Leader of the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal Tejashwi Yadav campaigned for the party’s candidate in Mokama, which grabbed headlines in the last two days following the killing of the 70-year-old strongman and Dularch Yadav in the area.
“Having a huge chest does not make you strong. Just look at Mahatma Gandhi who was built frail but stood up to the British who were the superpower of the time,” Mr Gandhi said at a public meeting in Begusarai. He added: “On the other hand, we have our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who often boasts of a 56-inch chest, but has a panic attack when Mr. Trump calls him during Operation Sindoor and the military conflict with Pakistan ends in two days.”
Referring to the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Mr. Gandhi said that “names of voters are still being deleted from the list, there is a lot of manipulation…be vigilant at your booths and protect your vote because it is your responsibility too”.
Later, Mr. Gandhi, along with party leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who hails from Begusarai district, and alliance Vikashil Insaan Party (VIP) leader Mukesh Shahani, jumped into a roadside pond to be with some fishermen (the Mallah caste to which Mr. Shahani belongs).
He touches his feet
In Tarapur, Mr. Nitish Kumar addressed a public meeting for Mr. Samrat Choudhary. He urged people to vote for Mr Choudhary as he is a “good person who knows about everything”. Mr. Choudhary reciprocated the gesture by smiling and touching the Chief Minister’s feet on the dais.
Mr. Tejashwi Yadav addressed a public meeting in Mokama in favor of party candidate Veena Devi, wife of area bahubali (strongman) Suraj Bhan Singh. At the meeting, Mr. Yadav announced that “the election results will be announced on November 14, the swearing-in ceremony will be held on November 18 and from November 26 to January 26, all the criminals of the state will be sent to jail.” He urged people to vote for Ms. Veena Devi and ensure that the Grand Alliance comes to power for “work”.
For the past two days, Mokama has been making headlines for yesterday’s broad daylight killing of 70-year-old strongman Dularchand Yadav. The ruling JD(U) candidate, another strongman in the area and four-time MLA Anant Singh, was named in the murder case, arrested along with two of his associates Manikant Thakur and Rajesh Ram at midnight on November 1 and sent to judicial custody for two weeks.
Speaking to the media in Patna, Congress president Sachin Pilot claimed that “Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s love for power and the seat is more than the love for the people of the state”. “The baishakhi (crutch) of the BJP in Bihar will be broken after the assembly poll results,” he added. “Is this the same Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who couriered hundreds of bitten fingernails of Bihars to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the Prime Minister raised questions about his DNA? But being attached to the Chief Minister’s chair has made him (Nitish Kumar) powerless,” Mr Pilot claims.
As many as 40 Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and independent MP from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, are the main campaigners in the Bihar assembly elections.
Two-phase elections are scheduled for November 6 and 11. The results will be announced on November 14.
Published – 02 Nov 2025 17:14 IST
