Bihar Election 2025: The campaign for the first phase of assembly elections in the state turned fiery on Wednesday (October 29) when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a rally in Siwan, the stronghold of late strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin.
His arrival was marked by the sound of drumbeats and the sight of a JCB excavator parked near the stage. The crowd cheered when he smiled at the gesture and said that in Uttar Pradesh, bulldozers run over the chests of mafias so hard that their allies are left only to read prayers over their remains.
For nearly 20 minutes, he spoke without pause. His words carried the familiar tone of anger and mockery. He spoke about how the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had fielded a candidate from Raghunathpur whose father was “known across the country for his criminal background”. He said the candidate, Osama Shahab, Shahabuddin’s only son, “lived up to his name”. The crowd erupted in laughter and slogans.
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He accused the RJD, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party of embracing criminals and mafias and said such parties “bowed at the tombs of rulers like Babur and Aurangzeb” instead of honouring their own land. The line drew loud cheers.
Yogi mocked the fodder scam with a phrase, alleging that “those who could steal fodder from cattle could swallow anything”. He began his speech in Bhojpuri, greeting the crowd as the sons and daughters of a land known for its strength and devotion. He said Bihar’s history was tied to the soul of India.
He urged people not to let Bihar slip back into what he called the era of “jungle raj”. He said the RJD’s candidate from Raghunathpur carried a family legacy rooted in crime and violence and warned that the “party wanted to bring back the same culture of fear”. He accused the Opposition of being guided by “family interests rather than the public good”, recalling how before 2005, Bihar was “known more for family progress than for the welfare of the people”.
Referring to his own governance model in Uttar Pradesh, he spoke about the “bulldozer approach”, saying that his administration had maintained zero tolerance toward crime and criminals. “Whatever remains unfinished, the bulldozer completes,” he declared, drawing applause from the crowd.
The chief minister then shifted to the Ram temple issue, describing it as a symbol of “cultural justice”. He accused both the Congress and the RJD of having “opposed the temple” in Ayodhya, recalling that one “denied the existence of Lord Ram while the other tried to stop the Rath Yatra”. Those who once stood against faith, he said, were now pretending to support it for political gain.
Continuing his attack, Yogi said that leaders from these parties would rather “bow at the tombs of Babur and Aurangzeb than draw inspiration from Lord Ram and Lord Shiva”. He portrayed this as the difference between what he called “true Indians” and those who seek power through “appeasement”.
He concluded by appealing to voters to keep the “double engine” of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) running, saying Bihar’s progress must not be interrupted. According to him, the Nitish Kumar government had helped the state recover from “decades of lawlessness and neglect”, and “it now needed speed, not disruption”.
He urged people of Raghunathpur to support NDA candidate Vikas Singh, who faces Osama Shahab in a high-voltage contest.
From Siwan, Yogi flew to Buxar to address another gathering in Shahpur. He switched to local dialect again and asked voters to “make the lotus bloom”. He said even the gods had blessed Bihar with clear skies and good weather because the NDA would return to power.
He repeated what he said in Siwan. He accused the Congress and the RJD of neglecting Bihar’s growth. He said “those who could steal fodder from animals would not hesitate to steal from people”. He claimed that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the poor, the youth, farmers and women were finally receiving their due.
He said that 25 crore people had risen above poverty in the past few years and that engineers from Bihar were now leading the state’s progress instead of leaving it.
He praised Bihar’s talent, saying that its youth were born with divine intelligence and only needed a platform to show their worth. Wherever Biharis went, he said, they proved their ability and earned respect.
‘Bihar Once Lived In Fear’
He said that during the RJD and Congress rule, Bihar’s “daughters lived in fear and families prayed for their safety, farmers took their own lives, traders hid behind shutters and young men fled for survival”. He said that after 2005, when Nitish Kumar joined hands with the NDA, the tide turned and “mafias began to count their days”.
He praised the chief minister for “rebuilding” the state with “years of hard work” and said Bihar today had roads, schools, medical colleges and better flood management – things that should have come 50 years earlier.
Yogi said that before 2005, Bihar was “trapped in family rule and chaos”, but Nitish Kumar had helped it “rise again”. He asked voters not to let that momentum stop. He said the double-engine government could drive Bihar’s progress as fast as a bullet train if given another chance.
He ended his address with words about faith and heritage. He said Bihar was not just about development but also about legacy – the land of Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Mahavir and Buddha. He mentioned former Chief Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram and first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad and called them Bihar’s pride.
When he asked if people were happy with the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the crowd shouted “yes”. He said the Congress, the RJD and the Samajwadi Party had once “opposed that temple”. The Congress, he alleged, said Ram “never existed”; the RJD said “it would never allow the temple’s construction”; and the Samajwadi Party “fired bullets at the devotees”.
“We were the ones who said that no matter how many bullets or batons came, we would go to Ayodhya and build the temple,” he said. His voice rose above the noise. “And now,” he said, “the temple stands tall”.
