Bhagalpur, 02 November (H.S.): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin on Monday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, accusing them of disrespecting the electoral mandate of Bihar and questioning constitutional institutions after failing to secure public support.

Addressing a gathering during the BJP’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy) campaign in Bhagalpur, Nitin Nabin called upon people to decisively reject the Opposition, alleging that its leaders were attempting to discredit democratic institutions and mislead the public over electoral processes.

He also Criticised Rahul Gandhi of acting at the behest of foreign powers and being used by a foreign-backed network to create instability and disorder in India. Nabin maintained that the country was governed by the Constitution and that political leaders were expected to respect the people’s verdict.

Referring specifically to Bihar’s electoral mandate, the BJP president alleged that Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav were undermining the democratic choice of the state’s electorate.

“To insult this mandate is to insult the people of Bihar themselves,” he said, urging the Opposition to accept the verdict rather than question the credibility of constitutional institutions.

Nitin Nabin also defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the Congress and the RJD had failed to utilise the prescribed opportunity to raise objections during the exercise and were now spreading misinformation.

He said a 60-day period had been provided for filing claims and objections concerning the inclusion or deletion of names from electoral rolls. According to him, the two parties had failed to make effective use of the process or submit complaints at the appropriate stages.

“There is a formal procedure for this: a full 60-day window is provided for filing claims and objections regarding the addition or deletion of names from the voter list. The Congress and RJD, however, were so short of party workers that no one even came forward to file a complaint,” Nitin Nabin alleged.

He further accused the Opposition of resorting to public protests after the completion of the revision exercise, instead of raising its concerns through the prescribed institutional channels.

The BJP leader also criticised opposition parties for holding a rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1, alleging that they were attempting to build a narrative based on falsehoods. The INDIA bloc gathering had focused on allegations of electoral irregularities and concerns surrounding the revision of voter lists.

Taking aim at opposition leaders in several states, Nitin Nabin named Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, accusing them of questioning constitutional institutions after electoral setbacks.

He also challenged the Congress to reflect on its electoral defeats, arguing that the party had failed to draw lessons from its setbacks in successive elections.

“Why do you not learn from your own failures? Had you learned from your failure in 2014, you would not have faced such a defeat in 2019,” he said.

Rejecting the suggestion that the BJP’s electoral victories were attributable to any individual or election official, Nabin said the party’s success in 2019 and 2024 had come from the support of voters.

He said the BJP’s victories in 2019 and 2024 reflected the trust and support of the people, whose mandate had been instrumental in bringing the party to power.

Nitin Nabin attributed the BJP’s electoral performance to its emphasis on development, public welfare and national security, describing these as the central pillars of the party’s political agenda.

The Bhagalpur programme formed part of the BJP’s nationwide ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ campaign, launched in response to the INDIA bloc’s allegations of electoral malpractice and its criticism of the Election Commission. As part of the same campaign,Nitin Nabin was also scheduled to lead a march in Kolkata later on Monday.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar