As the country heads towards the Lok Sabha election in 2024, the fight for the throne is getting to its peak with time. This time, opposition parties have joined their hands against the ruling party.
Image source-India.Com
In the center, the ruling party, the BJP (Bhartiya Janta Party), is at the end of its second term in the face of PM Narendra Modi. In India, Lok Sabha elections are conducted on a five-yearly basis. This year (2024), India will host its 18th Lok Sabha election.
Just after the visit of PM Modi to Bihar on February 3, 2024, the opposition parties launched their campaign for the Lok Sabha election in 2024 with a joint rally in Patna. It was held at the iconic Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Top opposition leaders of the I.N.D.I.A. (group formed by the opposition leaders), Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD), and Tejashwi Yadav (RJD) were present at the “Jan Vishwas Maha Rally," where they launched scathing attacks on PM Narendra Modi.
Ahead of the rally, across Bihar, the Mahagathbandhan‘s flags, hoardings, and posters with the slogans “Loktantra Bachao, Desh Bachao Aur BJP Harao” (Save Democracy, Save the Country, Defeat the BJP) could be seen. It was the first joint rally of Mahagathbandhan after Nitish Kumar, a probable PM candidate from I.N.D.I. An alliance ditched the group and joined hands with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), the central ruling party.
Image Source- Hindustan Times
The most important news to come out of the rally was that, despite his bad health conditions, RJD supremo Lalu Yadav attended the rally and also addressed the crowd. He attacked PM Modi directly with his words and asked, “You (Modi) tell me why you don’t have any children. You don’t have a family.” (as earlier PM Modi attacked nepotism in politics.) Lalu accused PM Modi and said, “He is not even Hindu. When your mother passed away, why don’t you get your head tonsured like other Hindus?”.
Lalu’s son Tejaswi criticized Bihar’s CM, Nitish Kumar, for his frequent flip-flops. He addressed the crowd with the new party’s acronym, “R for Rights, J for Jobs, and D for Development.” As a part of his party’s new strategy, Tejashwi is trying to regain his party’s position through MY( Muslim-Yadav) image to attract a new section of voters.
On the same day, both the National Democratic Alliance and the I.N.D.I.A. Alliance were in full swing to attract a large section of voters in Bihar. On one side, PM Modi was in Begusarai to inaugurate various projects with CM Nitish Kumar, and on the other side, RJD and other opposition parties hosted a Mahar rally in Patna.
Rahul Gandhi was present at the rally after taking a break from his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. He accused the central government and alleged that the marginalised section of society is facing injustice. He also criticized the Agniveer scheme, claiming that it is against the interests of the youth.
Congress National President Mallikarjun Khadge accused PM Modi of failing his promises made before the previous Lok Sabha election. He said, "PM Modi is destroying the country. Did Modi give 2 crore jobs? He also promised to bring black money from other countries. He also promised the construction of pucca houses by 2022. He also promised to double the farmer's income. Did Modi fulfill all this? These are all lies, which means Modiji is Jhooton ka sardar (king of lies). No one has benefited from his schemes in the last 10 years," Kharge said. As a round-off, the whole motive of this rally is to attack the ruling party for the coming Lok Sabha election.
The ‘Jan Vishwas Rally’ is the culmination of RJD’s ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’, aiming to attract the youth towards his vision of job creation.