Patna (Bihar) [India], October 22 : Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal took a sharp dig at the Mahagathbandhan alliance on Wednesday, criticising their seat-sharing arrangement and candidate selection for the upcoming Bihar elections.
Jaiswal termed the opposition coalition as "maha-latth-bandhan," alleging that the public has seen through their facade.
"The way the mahagathbandhan has divided seats and selected candidates, the people and voters of Bihar are now calling it the 'maha-latth-bnandhan'... and they said it's a 'friendly fight'.... what does 'friendly fight' mean in an election?... The public is recognising their wolf's skin. Let jungle raj 2.0 not return...," he said.
On Tuesday, Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh admitted to a "tussle" within the Mahagathbandhan during ticket distribution for the Bihar assembly elections, stating that it had sent a wrong message to the common people.
"I don't deny that there indeed has been a little mess up. The manner in which there was a tussle over the distribution of tickets has indeed sent a wrong message," Akhilesh Prasad Singh told ANI, while replying to a question related to Mahagathbandhan allies facing each other on 12 seats.
He further stated that the issue should be resolved immediately, as there is no room for "friendly competition" in elections. Singh mentioned that the Congress high command would address and resolve the issue.
"There should not be a friendly fight. There is time until tomorrow (for withdrawal of nominations). It should be resolved immediately, and I think the senior leaders of the Congress and leaders sent by the high command are working on it," Akhilesh added.
Dilip Jaiswal further spoke about the NDA's election strategy, likening their alliance to the five Pandavas and emphasising their commitment to 'Gathbandhan Dharm' (alliance principles) by transparently sharing seats.
"The NDA is like the five Pandavas, and we are transparently following the 'Gathbandhan Dharm' to share seats accordingly. Our election campaign began yesterday, with both the Chief Minister and me actively campaigning," Jaiswal said.
He further announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur's residence on October 24 to pay homage and address two public rallies on the same day--one in Samastipur at 10 AM and another in Begusarai at 1 PM.
The 2025 Bihar Elections will have the main contest between the National Democratic Alliance and the Mahagathbandhan.
NDA includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
The Mahagathbandhan, led by Rashtriya Janata Dal, includes Congress party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).
Additionally, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj has also staked claims on all 243 seats of the state.
The polling in the Bihar 2025 elections is scheduled to take place on November 6 and 11, respectively, while the results will be declared on November 14.