New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) As Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra gears up to kickstart her election campaign in Bihar with a ‘Mahila Samwad’ in Motihari, the BJP on Thursday has questioned the impact of her visit, citing her past electoral record in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to IANS, senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said: “Priyanka Gandhi worked tirelessly in Uttar Pradesh with slogans like ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’. She even held ‘Khatiya Rallies’ with strategist Prashant Kishor. Yet, she couldn’t win a single seat. What difference will her visit make in Bihar?”

Bihar Cabinet Minister Nitin Nabin also took a sharp jibe, saying: “Priyanka Gandhi should first hold her own alliance accountable. Leaders from Congress and RJD have disrespected women, even mothers, on Bihar’s soil. As a woman leader, if she couldn’t raise her voice then, what moral authority does she have now to speak for Bihar’s women?”

BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal offered a sarcastic welcome.

“It’s good she’s coming. She’ll see how much Bihar has progressed. During the Congress rule, traffic chaos was the norm. Now, with new flyovers and infrastructure, she will witness real development. She should take a tour of Patna,” he told IANS.

However, Congress leaders defended Priyanka Gandhi.

Congress MLA Neetu Kumari countered the criticism, saying: “The Congress has always stood for women’s rights. Through Mahila Samwad, women will have the opportunity to voice their struggles directly to Priyanka Gandhi. It’s not just a rally; it’s a platform for empowerment.”

Priyanka Gandhi’s Motihari rally, scheduled for September 26, marks the formal launch of the Congress’s campaign for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The rally is strategically significant, taking place in Champaran, a BJP stronghold and just days after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Patna, signalling an aggressive electoral push by the party.

This comes as the Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress, RJD, and Left parties, negotiates seat-sharing arrangements ahead of the high-stakes contest later this year.

In the 2020 Assembly elections, the alliance fell short of the majority, with many political observers attributing the loss to the Congress’s underwhelming performance.

Priyanka Gandhi’s rally also follows the party’s recently concluded 14-day, 1,300-km-long Voter Adhikar Yatra, aimed at protesting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission in Bihar.

–IANS

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