Farmers took to the streets in Patna, Bihar, on Monday to protest alleged irregularities in various development projects. They claimed the government was acquiring their land at unfairly low prices under the guise of development, despite provisions for four times the compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. The protestors, led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sudhakar Singh from Buxar, demonstrated and encircled Patna. They alleged that the government was offering compensation based on 2010 rates, leading to significant financial losses. The protest, organized by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, began at Buddha Park in Patna and was led by Sudhakar Singh, Dinesh Singh, and Ashok Prasad Singh. The farmers vowed to continue their agitation until their demands were met. They also opposed the construction of NH-319A, which they want rerouted along the Karmnasha River as a marine drive, instead of displacing Banarpur village in Chausa block, Buxar. Furthermore, farmers expressed strong resentment over the planned acquisition of fertile land in Gangapur Narouli, Bakhtiyarpur block, Patna district, for industrial purposes. They also presented a 15-point list of demands to the government.
Bihar Pradesh Congress President Rajesh Ram stated that the Congress’s voter rights campaign, which began on August 17, had exposed the BJP’s lies. He claimed that the public’s enthusiasm in every district showed that they were tired of the BJP’s vote-stealing tactics and considered Congress as the real alternative. Ram accused the BJP of attempting to undermine democracy through voter list manipulations, but the public had shown their commitment to democracy. He added that the affection shown for Rahul Gandhi was a clear message to the BJP that they wouldn’t gain power through deceit. He claimed that the BJP was now afraid of ‘ghost voters’ and that the BJP’s rallies were seeing empty chairs. Meanwhile, Congress rallies were seeing huge crowds, which showed that Bihar was rediscovering its lost identity.
CPM-ML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya raised serious questions regarding the voter list revision. He mentioned that the Supreme Court had also raised questions about the involvement of political parties’ BLOs. Bhattacharya asserted that CPM-ML was the only party that had taken a serious initiative in this matter. He said that the party had filed 10 objections. He said that the deadline for the voter list revision was too short. He also noted that there were still millions of migrant workers whose documents were not submitted and that an extension of the deadline was necessary, as approximately 1.5 million people still needed to be added to the list.
NDA held worker conferences in 14 assembly constituencies in Bihar on Monday. BJP State President Dr. Dilip Jaiswal addressed the workers in Ujiarpur, while Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary addressed workers in Katoria and Vijay Sinha addressed workers in Bochaha. Nityanand Rai addressed in Chanpatia, MP Sanjay Jaiswal in Amanour, Minister Mangal Pandey in Jamui, and Union Minister Giriraj Singh addressed workers in Banmankhi. Dr. Jaiswal stated that the NDA had the right policies, leaders, and the intention to develop Bihar. He highlighted the development that had taken place in Bihar since 2005 under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.
Dr. Santosh Suman, the National President of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Minister of Small Water Resources, stated that Rahul Gandhi, under whose leadership the Congress had lost 90 elections, would fail in Bihar as well. He claimed that creating headlines through fake narratives couldn’t win the public’s trust. He added that Rahul Gandhi’s political career spanning two decades had not gained the public’s trust. He also highlighted that the Congress and RJD had governed Bihar for 40 and 15 years respectively and stated that it was the worst phase for the state.
Neeraj Kumar, the JDU MLC and party’s chief spokesperson, sharply criticized the Leader of Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, accusing the Lalu family of consistently undermining the legacy of Jananayak Karpoori Thakur. He stated that Congress and RJD were making a mockery of the Jananayak title. He claimed that the title of Jananayak belonged solely to Karpoori Thakur, whose simple life, honesty, and struggle could never be forgotten by the people of Bihar. He added that those who have corruption charges against them can never be Jananayak.
JDU National General Secretary Manish Verma, during his visit to Madhubani, targeted Lalu-Rabri and Prashant Kishore. He was speaking at the NDA worker conference held in Laukaha. He said that Nitish Kumar had demanded that Atal Bihari Vajpayee grant Maithili the status of a constitutional language. He added that an NDA wave was sweeping the entire state. He described Prashant Kishore as someone who pretends to be knowledgeable by using Gandhi’s poster, and challenges everyone all day. He said that the five parties in the NDA were contesting the elections together, which would lead to the defeat of the opposition.
JDU state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha, while addressing the NDA worker conference in Narkatia assembly, encouraged the workers and reiterated Nitish Kumar’s resolve to secure 225 seats in 2025. Kushwaha claimed that Nitish Kumar had transformed Bihar in the last 20 years, bringing unprecedented progress in roads, electricity, education, health, employment, and women empowerment. He also described the Mahagathbandhan as an alliance of mega-scamsters, while also stating that the Modi-Nitish duo was dedicated to the public interest, whereas the politics of Rahul and Tejashwi was limited to family interests.
JDU state spokesperson Dr. Nihora Prasad Yadav launched a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, stating that just as Lalu Prasad Yadav had disrespected Jananayak Karpoori Thakur during his lifetime, his son Tejashwi Yadav was now following the same path. He stated that Karpoori Thakur was an example of struggle, honesty, and clean politics, and that he had always been the voice of the poor, the backward, and the marginalized. He accused Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi of exploiting Karpoori Thakur’s name for political gain.
