Overview
- At rallies in Arrah, Saharsa and Katihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeated his claim that the RJD forced Congress to back Tejashwi Yadav as CM candidate at ‘gunpoint’ and accused the party of earlier stalling Bihar projects through UPA pressure.
- Modi framed the contest around faith and law and order, charging the Congress–RJD combine with insulting Chhath and warning against a return to ‘jungle raj’, after a Patna roadshow and events in Nawada drew large crowds.
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge dismissed the ‘katta’ allegation as a lie and said the BJP would not retain Nitish Kumar as chief minister if the NDA wins, while RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav criticized the Prime Minister’s language.
- Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jairam Ramesh attacked the NDA over paper leaks, unemployment and alleged irregularities cited by the CAG at about Rs 70,000 crore, as Rahul Gandhi’s Begusarai pond dip and crony-capitalism charge kept the spotlight on economic distress.
- A Patna court sent JD(U) candidate Anant Singh to 14 days’ judicial custody in a murder case, adding a law-and-order twist as phase-one voting approaches on November 6.