Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra enters Bihar a day after Nitish Kumar's INDIA exit

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Bihar on Monday; a day after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar deserted the INDIA bloc, and formed the government in an alliance with NDA. The yatra kick-started the Bihar leg and entered the state via Kishangang, a Congress stronghold.

As per schedule, Rahul Gandhi is expected to address a public meeting in Kishanganj. The Congress leader is slated to attend a rally in JDU strongholds, Purnea and Katihar, on Tuesday. State Congress leaders have extended invitations to the party's alliance partners in Bihar, namely the RJD and CPI (ML)-L, for the Purnea rally.

This is Rahul Gandhi’s first visit to Bihar since the 2020 assembly poll campaign. Following the 2020 election, the NDA alliance, led by Nitish Kumar formed the government. However, soon after in August 2022, Nitish Kumar left the NDA alliance and reestablished ties with estranged allies, the RJD and Congress. The political landscape of Bihar changed on Sunday after CM Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister on Sunday, with BJP’s Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha as deputy chief ministers of the state.

Congress hit out at the JDU leader for his frequent changes in allegiance. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge referred to Kumar as 'aya ram, gaya ram,' a term in Indian politics used for political turncoats. Jairam Ramesh added that Kumar competes strongly with chameleons in terms of his ability to switch political affiliations and partners.

JDU on the other had slammed Congress for attempting to “control” the INDIA alliance. Nitish Kumar, who was one of the founding members of the Opposition bloc, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress within the INDIA coalition. JDU leader KC Tyagi asserted that the alliance dissolved due to the Congress's “arrogance.”

After the completion of the first half of the Bihar leg, Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entourage will leave for West Bengal on Thursday, via Araria, and will return to Bihar in a couple of days through Jharkhand, before moving ahead.