"Amit Shah prays to Chhathi Maiya for electoral gains": Ashok Gehlot

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], October 25 (ANI): Following Union Minister Amit Shah's election rallies in Bihar on the first day of Chhath Puja, Congress leader and Senior Election Observer for the AICC, Ashok Gehlot, on Saturday, alleged that the BJP leader used the festival for electoral gains in the Assembly Elections.
Speaking to ANI, Gehlot accused the BJP-JD(U) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar of "misleading" the public, saying their "jumlas" (false promises) would not work.
The Congress leader said, "Their 'jumlas' will not work. If Amit Shah ji prays to Chhathi Maiya, it's for electoral gains. They have come here for the elections and are misleading people. The situation in Bihar is serious, and the youth are unemployed."
Expressing confidence in Mahagathbandhan's victory, Gehlot said that the Opposition's alliance will give a "good fight" to the NDA in the upcoming polls.
"Our campaign will keep expanding, and we will give a good fight (to NDA). They (NDA) win elections by doing polarisation on the basis of religion and caste. It is now the turn of Mahagathbandhan to come to power in Bihar," he said.
This comes after Union Minister Shah extended the festival greetings and prayed that Bihar remains free from "jungle-raj."
Addressing a rally in Bihar's Khagaria, Shah stated, "You all know that the great festival of Chhath has begun today. I wish all the people of Bihar a very happy Chhath festival. I pray to Chhath Maiya that our Bihar remains free from jungle raj, that law and order remain strong, that our sisters and daughters remain safe, and that Bihar becomes a developed state in the future. This is what I want to pray to Chhath Maiya."
After Amit Shah slammed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', saying it was held to "protect infiltrators", Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh hit back and said that the party has not stopped the removal of infiltrators.
He said, "When has Congress ever stopped the removal of infiltrators? But the issue of infiltrators only comes up during elections. Now this same issue will be picked up in West Bengal, and after that in Assam. If you remove the infiltrators, we have never refused. It can't be that infiltrators are only used in election speeches, right?"
Amit Shah had criticised Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and assured the public that the NDA government in Bihar would remove infiltrators from the state.
"Recently, Rahul Baba came to protect infiltrators. Tell me, should the names of infiltrators be removed from the voter list or not? Form the NDA government again. I promise you that we will remove every single infiltrator from Bihar," Shah said.
The Union Minister held public meetings in Khagaria, Munger and Nalanda ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The poll results will be announced on November 14.
The main contest is between the Nitish Kumar-led NDA and the RJD-led opposition alliance Mahagathbandhan.
NDA includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).
Mahagathbandhan, led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), includes Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP). (ANI)