New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) The Congress on Sunday released the list of 40 star campaigners for the second phase of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, scheduled to be held on November 11.

The list includes top national leaders and prominent state figures, signalling an all-out campaign push by the party to strengthen its presence in the state ahead of polling.

Leading the list is Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, followed by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who are expected to dominate the party’s major rallies and public meetings across key constituencies.

Senior leaders such as Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, Digvijaya Singh, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, and Sachin Pilot are also among the prominent campaigners who will spearhead outreach efforts in different regions.

Other notable figures in the list include K.C. Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Imran Pratapgarhi, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Tariq Anwar, Meira Kumar, Gaurav Gogoi, Ranjeet Ranjan, Jignesh Mevani, Syed Naseer Hussain, Rajesh Ranjan (Pappu Yadav), and Rajendra Pal Gautam.

Several senior Bihar Congress leaders, such as Madan Mohan Jha, Shakeel Ahmad Khan, Sukhdeo Bhagat, Rajesh Kumar Ram, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, and Furqan Ansari, are also part of the list.

Rising leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar, Supriya Shrinate, Pramod Tiwari, Krishna Allavaru, Ajay Rai, and Anil Jaihind have been included to appeal to younger voters and strengthen the Congress campaign at the grassroots level.

The inclusion of diverse leaders from across the country reflects the party’s attempt to project unity and energy within the INDIA bloc ahead of the crucial second phase.

Senior Congress functionaries said the star campaigners will focus on issues such as employment, inflation, farmers’ distress, and women’s welfare, while also highlighting alleged governance failures under the NDA government.

In the first phase of the Bihar Assembly polls, voting for several constituencies is scheduled on November 6, with the second phase to follow on November 11, and the counting of votes on November 14, according to the Election Commission of India.

The Congress, contesting as part of the opposition Mahagathbandhan, hopes to regain lost ground in the state as campaigning intensifies across all 243 seats.

–IANS

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