Patna: As Bihar’s assembly poll fever mounts, Tuesday erupted into a cauldron of accusations and counter-jabs, with opposition parties ripping into the BJP-JD(U) alliance over corruption and electoral sleights, while the ruling bloc fired back at Prashant Kishor’s fledgling Jan Suraaj.
From voter list tweaks to ministerial graft allegations, the day’s drama signals a no-holds-barred battle ahead of the 2025 showdown.
The RJD kicked off the salvo, mocking BJP’s overtures to RLJM chief Upendra Kushwaha and Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh. Spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad quipped, “BJP dreams of weaving palaces from straws, but it’ll remain just that — a dream. Everyone knows the dirty games they played with Kushwaha in the Lok Sabha polls; he still rants about it.”
Congress piled on, branding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls a “grand sham.”. State president Rajesh Ram slammed the opaque exercise — unasked for by voters or parties — as riddled with lapses that drew repeated Supreme Court interventions to enforce basic natural justice. “It was a farce from the start,” he fumed.
CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya turned the heat on institutional rot, questioning the BJP-JD(U)’s silence on CAG’s bombshell: the Bihar government’s unaccounted Rs 70,000 crore. “Bribes grease every wheel here,” he charged, spotlighting Prashant Kishor’s explosive claims against ministers and officials. “Why no response? Kishor must reveal his funders — parties and corporates — or risk burying real issues like migration, debt, unemployment, crime, and education under sensationalism. This election is for change, not circus.”
In a twist, RJD’s Chittaranjan Gagan hailed the Election Commission’s final voter list, now swelling to 7.42 crore after adding 21.53 lakh names and deleting 3.66 lakh from the draft’s 7.24 crore. “We’ll review and respond post-scrutiny,” he said.
Not to be outdone, BJP’s media in-charge Danish Iqbal skewered Jan Suraaj, dubbing its national president, Uday Singh (alias Pappu), as the “biggest political age-faker and con artist.” “Kishor hurls baseless barbs at us but stays mum on his sidekick sitting right beside him,” Iqbal sneered.
With alliances fracturing and mudslinging in full swing, Bihar’s political theatre is set for an electrifying act two.