Former Bihar Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s spiritual activity in Kanniyakumari, dismissing it as mere “photo shoots.” Yadav stated, “Modi ji isn’t doing any meditation, only photo shoots are happening. Once the photo shoot ends, they will come back.”
Prime Minister Modi is currently in Kanniyakumari, engaged in meditation at the Dhyan Mandapam, the site where Swami Vivekananda is believed to have had a divine vision about ‘Bharat Mata.’ His meditation is expected to conclude today.
Yadav also made a political appeal, urging people to vote against those undermining constitutional principles, reservations, and democracy. He said, “I will tell people to step out of their homes, and those who want to abolish the constitution, reservations, and democracy, those whose actions have increased unemployment, inflation, and poverty, I appeal to my people to vote against them.”
Expressing confidence in Bihar’s electoral prospects, Yadav said, “We have said it before that Bihar will deliver a surprising result, and we will surpass 300 seats.” He also announced his upcoming trip to Delhi for a pre-scheduled meeting at 3 p.m. today.
Under the INDIA alliance agreement in Bihar, the RJD is contesting 26 seats, Congress nine, and the Left parties five out of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. In the NDA, the BJP will contest 17 seats, Janata Dal-United (JDU) 16, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) (Ram Vilas) five, and Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha one seat each in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Bihar’s elections are contested in all seven phases, with its 40 Lok Sabha constituencies playing a crucial role in Indian politics. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA, including the BJP, JDU, and LJP, won 39 out of 40 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan, led by the RJD, INC, and RLSP, secured only one seat.
Meanwhile, voting is taking place in the last 57 parliamentary constituencies across seven states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The seventh phase concludes the world’s largest polling marathon, which began on the 19th of last month, covering six phases and 486 Lok Sabha seats.
According to the Election Commission of India, over 10.06 crore electors, including approximately 5.24 crore male, 4.82 crore female, and 3574 third gender electors, are expected to vote. The states involved include Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Polling for the remaining 42 Assembly constituencies of the Odisha State Legislative Assembly is also taking place simultaneously.
A total of 904 candidates are competing in this final phase of polling. Prominent candidates include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nishikant Dubey, and Ravneet Singh Bittu, Congress leaders Manish Tewari and Charanjit Singh Channi, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and RJD leader Misa Bharti.