Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot tore into the NDA’s manifesto for the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, calling it a “string of lies” and accusing the ruling coalition of releasing it in a 26-second press conference to evade tough questions on two decades of governance. Speaking in Patna, Gehlot highlighted how Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP president J.P. Nadda, and other leaders unveiled the 69-page “Sankalp Patra” at a city hotel before abruptly leaving, forcing Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary to handle media queries alone.
Gehlot demanded a detailed “report card” of the NDA’s performance—especially on unemployment, migration, and infrastructure—before accepting fresh promises like one crore government jobs, one crore “Lakhpati Didis” with Rs 2 lakh aid each, Rs 50 lakh crore in industrial investments, seven international airports, and metro services in four additional cities.
Gehlot zeroed in on Kumar’s silence, questioning why the veteran leader, who has served as Chief Minister nine times and shaped Bihar’s social reforms, did not present the manifesto himself. “Was he not in a position to speak?” Gehlot asked, a sharp jab at JD(U)’s perceived marginalization within the BJP-dominated NDA. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh, present at the press meet, labeled the snub “disrespect to Bihar and Biharis,” arguing it undermined Kumar’s stature in a state where the alliance holds 168 of 243 seats but faces rising anti-incumbency.
Choudhary outlined targeted pledges—Rs 10 lakh aid for Extremely Backward Classes, a statewide skills census, MSP guarantees for farmers, and world-class development of Punaura Dham—but opposition leaders dismissed these as recycled rhetoric amid persistent poverty and youth exodus. The launch, just before two-phase polling on November 6 and 11, intensified rivalry with the Mahagathbandhan’s “Tejashwi Ka Pran Patra.” RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav mocked the NDA for “copying” opposition ideas and demanded a “sorry patra” for past failures, while Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj called for an independent governance audit.
Social media erupted with memes ridiculing the “26-second spectacle” as a symbol of NDA’s fear of accountability. Gehlot, as Congress poll observer, framed the episode as proof of elitism and evasion, aiming to rally youth and caste-based voters in a state of 14 crore electors. The controversy has spotlighted internal NDA frictions and set the stage for a fiercely contested election that could reshape Bihar’s political future.