Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the BJP and Janata Dal (United) government in Bihar has deviated from its path and was high on power and ego while making an appeal to voters ahead of the state assembly polls.
In a four-minute video posted on the Congress Twitter handle, Gandhi appealed to the voters to build a new Bihar by ushering in a change in the state. She said the words and deeds of the ruling government are suspected as labourers in the state are helpless, the farmers and youth are disappointed. People are bearing the brunt of the fragile state of the economy, she added.
A serious crisis has hit the farmers of the country, she said referring to the farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government. The lives of backward sections including that of Dalits and Mahadalits are destroyed, she said.
Gandhi targeted the governments in Delhi and Patna, saying they have brought demonetisation, economic shutdown and the employment crisis. The government cannot be formed on fear and crime, she said and called upon the people of Bihar to repose their faith in the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress alliance, the Mahagathbandhan.
The Left parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI (ML)), the Communist Party of India (CPI), and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), are also part of the grand alliance. In its poll manifesto, the Congress has promised to review the decision on the ban of consumption and sale of liquor in the state, saying it has hurt the exchequer. It also promised Rs 1,500 as a monthly allowance for unemployed youth.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections is on October 28 with 71 constituencies set to vote in six districts including some Maoist-hit areas. The second and third phases are scheduled for November 3 and November 7. The counting of votes will be done on November 10.