Bihar Assembly polls: NDA will cross 200 seats; INDIA bloc to fall below 40, says Nityanand Rai

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Sunday (August 31, 2025) claimed that the INDIA bloc would be reduced to less than 40 seats in the upcoming Bihar Assembly election, while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would return to power under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar by winning more than 200 seats.

Taking a dig at the ongoing Voter Adhikar Yatra (Voter Rights March), led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, Mr. Rai said the event was “full of hatred” and organised to mislead the people of Bihar. His remarks came on the eve of the Yatra’s concluding day in Patna on September 1, 2025.

“A platform was provided to abuse the country’s popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and his respected mother. The event was organised to give protection to foreign infiltrators including Rohingyas and Bangladeshis, and to prove their illegal voting rights as legitimate,” Mr. Rai said at a press conference in Patna.

He alleged that the Yatra was also meant to welcome Opposition leaders who “hate the people of Bihar,” naming Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

The former Bihar BJP president and Lok Sabha MP from Ujiarpur further warned Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Yadav that the 14 crore people of Bihar cannot tolerate the culture of abuse.

“There is anger and outrage in the people of Bihar over the kind of indecent language used against the PM and his late mother. The people of Bihar are ready to retaliate against it. The Mahagathbandhan will be reduced to less than 40 seats and once again the NDA government will be formed in Bihar under the leadership of Nitish Kumar by winning more than 200 seats,” he said.

He demanded that the Opposition leaders “stop testing the patience of the people of Bihar and immediately apologise to the people of the country” for the alleged remarks, warning of consequences otherwise.

Mr. Rai also referred to Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s purported remarks in West Bengal about Union Home Minister Amit Shah, calling them “highly objectionable and shameful for the country”. “I want to tell the West Bengal government that the way you people are giving protection to the intruders is definitely a matter of concern for the country,” he alleged.

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He further criticised Mr. Stalin and Mr. Reddy for joining the Yatra, saying those unfamiliar with Bihar should know that “the people of Bihar democratically take account of those who play with the honour and self-respect of Bihar”.

“Voter Adhikar Yatra is the real face of Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav and they have been exposed in front of the people of Bihar. It has been proved that these people are election tourists. When the elections come, they will visit and take out a Yatra. They will pretend to go among the people and after the elections, they will give you gundaraj, jungle raj, massacre and rule of infiltrators,” Mr. Rai said.

In the evening, the BJP’s women’s cell held a candle march in protest against Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Yadav over the alleged abusive language used against the Prime Minister’s mother.