The constituents of the INDIA bloc in Bihar on Thursday met in Patna ahead of the Assembly Elections and formed a coordination committee headed by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav to deliberate upon a common minimum programme for the assembly polls due later this year.
The crucial meeting, held at the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) office in the Bihar capital, began around 2:15 pm and lasted nearly two and a half hours. The meeting comes ahead of the Bihar assembly poll, which is scheduled to be held later this year.
Apart from Tejashwi, the representatives from key alliance partners, including the Congress, RJD, Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI (Marxist), CPI (Marxist–Leninist), and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), gathered to deliberate on election strategies and shared goals.
As per sources, a consensus was reached on developing a common minimum programme and strengthening unity among the constituent parties.
"Alliance partners of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ unanimously took a decision to constitute a coordination committee to formulate a joint strategy and a common minimum programme for the upcoming assembly polls. I have been chosen to head the panel,” Tejashwi Yadav said, adding that the INDIA bloc will fight the elections united.
The Mahagathbandhan held a joint press conference after the meeting during which Tejashwi attacked the Nitish Kumar-led government, saying that the real 'double-engine' in Bihar is of crime and corruption.
"The first meeting of Mahagathbandhan was held today on the situation in Bihar. We discussed matters related to poverty, unemployment and migration. The people of Bihar are angry and they are upset with the government. After 20 years of NDA rule, Bihar is the poorest, there are 2 crore registered migrant labour from Bihar... Bihar is at the top on migration, poverty, unemployment and crime," Tejashwi said in the press conference.
"The criminals are not in control in Bihar. The crime is increasing...PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah keep coming to Bihar. They should answer what is happening in Bihar and what work their government is doing...The real double engine in Bihar is - crime and corruption," he added.
He attacked PM Modi saying that in the 11 years of his government, there was no work done in Bihar.
"You (Modi) have only done the work of duping Bihar. People believed in you, voted for you and made you the prime minister and gave you so many MPs (from the state), but what did you do? Can you name even one achievement you did for Bihar," he added.