Bihar elections: Rahul Gandhi skips Mahagathbandhan presser; joint manifesto released in Patna

NEW DELHI: Tejashwi Yadav, Pawan Khera and Dipankar Bhattacharya were present as the Mahagathbandhan unveiled its joint manifesto in Patna for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. Yet the spotlight also fell on who wasn’t there — another day marked by Rahul Gandhi’s absence from the poll-bound state. The document was branded as “Tejashwi’s Prann,” featuring a prominent image of the RJD leader on its cover, with Rahul's small image at the top left — a detail that may hint at the shifting centre of gravity within the alliance.Interestingly, in 2020 the alliance titled its manifesto “Prann Humara,” avoiding any direct association with a specific leader — though Tejashwi’s image still featured on the cover. This time, however, the branding appeared far more pointed.Follow full coverage on Bihar pollsIt's been over two months since the poll-bound state got a glimpse of the Congress leader. However, he did make a digital cameo on Monday, as he extended Chhath Pooja greetings flaunting his Bhojpuri skills."A few days ago, I had a very engaging conversation with the youth of Bihar - on education, health, employment, every issue. And, there is only one culprit responsible for their deplorable state: the BJP-JDU government," he said as he shared the video.The grand old party, which had the worst strike rate in the opposition camp in 2020 polls, has assured that Rahul will kickoff the Congress campaign starting October 29 and 30 in the state. Congress fielded candidates in 70 constituencies, the second-highest tally in the opposition bloc after the RJD’s 144, but managed to secure victories in only 19 of them.Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party president Mallikarjun Kharge would follow suit. Moreover, a joint rally with Tejashwi is also being planned in Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga.Rahul Gandhi's last visit to the state was in August when he conducted 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' for 16 days, during which he covered 1,300km, 110 Assembly constituencies across 25 districts.The march was framed as a moral battle to safeguard the electoral process, urging voters to stand against what he described as “vote chori” by the ruling NDA.