THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Araria, Nov 6: The first phase of polling for the Bihar Assembly elections is underway, with voters in 121 constituencies across 18 districts casting their ballots to elect among 1,314 candidates contesting for 243 seats in the state. As of 1 p.m., the voter turnout stood at 42.31%.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a public rally in Araria on Thursday, launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), holding it responsible for Bihar’s “jungleraj” era marked by crime and misrule.
He said the RJD’s 15-year rule turned Bihar’s identity into one of “katta, katuta, krurta, kushasan, kusanskar, and corruption.”
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The Prime Minister contrasted that phase with the state’s earlier image as a land of social justice, saying that while the votes of past generations once brought pride to Bihar, the RJD’s regime in the 1990s turned it into a period of lawlessness that crushed people’s aspirations.
Praising Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for steering the state out of that dark phase, Modi credited the “double-engine government” of the NDA for accelerating Bihar’s growth since 2014.
He highlighted the establishment of premier institutions such as IIT Patna, IIM Bodh Gaya, AIIMS Patna, NLU, IIIT Bhagalpur, and four central universities as symbols of Bihar’s resurgence.
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The Prime Minister also underlined the government’s efforts to identify and deport illegal infiltrators from the state, calling it one of the biggest challenges to national security.
He accused the RJD and Congress of shielding infiltrators and misleading people for political gains, claiming that opposition leaders were holding rallies and spreading misinformation to protect them.
