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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge connected Saturday (November 8, 2025) rubbished Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s predictions of the NDA’s triumph successful the Bihar Assembly polls, pointing retired that their “400 plus” assertion successful the Lok Sabha elections was mode disconnected the mark.
He spoke to PTI in Gaya, wherever helium insisted that “all was not well” successful the BJP-led coalition, arsenic determination were doubts that Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president and longest-serving Chief Minister, would beryllium backed for different word successful office.
Bihar Assembly election: Follow highlights, updates connected November 8, 2025
“The Prime Minister tin accidental anything. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, they kept saying 400 paar,” said Mr. Kharge, pointing to the show of the BJP successful past year’s wide elections, erstwhile it fell abbreviated of a bulk and became babelike connected allies similar JD(U) and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP for endurance successful power.
When his attraction was drawn to the information that Mr. Shah, the astir trusted adjutant of PM Modi and the BJP’s main strategist, has been claiming that the NDA’s tally successful the 243-strong Bihar Assembly could beryllium “160 plus”, the Congress president said, “I would again accidental you support successful caput their boast of 400 paar, which came a cropper.”
He bristled astatine the Prime Minister’s repeated assertion that the Congress was reluctant to sanction RJD person Tejashwi Yadav arsenic the INDIA bloc’s main ministerial campaigner but relented erstwhile a ‘katta’ (unlicensed, country-made pistol) was placed connected his head.
“Nobody tin scare us. Not adjacent the Prime Minister. And the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance) volition travel to powerfulness successful Bihar. He (Modi) should archer america whether Trump had enactment a 'katta' connected his head,” Mr. Kharge claimed.
The allusion was to repeated claims of the U.S. President that India had agreed to halt subject struggle with Pakistan, earlier this year, upon his intervention.
Mr. Kharge besides asked, “Why is it that Modi and Shah person not yet declared Nitish Kumar arsenic the main ministerial candidate? They cannot assertion that the NDA volition instrumentality to powerfulness with nary statement adjacent connected leadership”.
In a abstracted speech with PTI video, Congress General Secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal besides formed doubts implicit claims of victory, with 160 positive seats, successful Bihar by PM Modi and Mr. Shah.
He asked, “How bash they know? Are they astrologers? They tin beryllium definite lone if they are up to immoderate mischief. And that is what our person Rahul Gandhi has been trying to underscore done the run against ballot chori.” Both Mr. Kharge and Mr. Venugopal claimed that the manifesto of NDA was a “bundle of lies”.
Mr. Kharge said, “Modi should beryllium reminded of his rhetoric successful the 2014 Lok Sabha polls erstwhile helium came to power, promising 2 crore jobs each twelvemonth and bringing backmost achromatic wealth stashed abroad. Those were blatant lies.”
Mr. Venugopal said, “When we came up with our guarantees for radical up of Karnataka polls, the full BJP machinery accused america of ruining the economy. Now, realising that pro-people measures output votes, arsenic these did for america successful Karnataka and Telangana, they are trying to connection freebies”.
Both leaders exuded assurance that the Opposition coalition, including their party, would bash good successful the Bihar elections.
Meanwhile, addressing a property league successful Patna, the party’s president for media and publicity, Pawan Khera, claimed, “We (INDIA bloc) volition triumph astatine slightest 72 retired of the 121 seats that went to polls successful the archetypal phase.”
Mr. Khera said that it was “a blimpish estimate” drawn connected the ground of an appraisal done by the Congress and its allies.
Reacting to the ‘katta’ jibe, Mr. Khera said Nitish Kumar “should instrumentality a cue and effort securing main ministership for himself by placing a ‘katta’ connected the BJP’s head”.
He besides said, “The BJP keeps accusing america of ‘jungle raj’. On the time of the archetypal signifier of polls, the convoy of Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha was attacked. There cannot beryllium bigger grounds for 'jungle raj' prevailing nether NDA regularisation successful Bihar.”
Mr. Khera besides alleged that Mr. Shah, who has been staying successful Bihar for the past fewer days, was “secretly gathering authorities officials successful the assistance of his hotel, “a crushed wherefore pieces of insubstantial person been pasted connected the CCTV cameras”.
“But helium should cognize that the officials, whom they see loyal to themselves, person sensed the winds of change. They spill the beans earlier us,” claimed Mr. Khera.
