Rahul, Tejashwi are disrespecting the people’s mandate: BJP chief Nitin Nabin

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

BJP National President Nitin Nabin addresses the gathering during the 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' campaign in Bhagalpur, Bihar. | Photo Credit: PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Nabin on Monday (November 2, 2026) accused the Congress and the rest of the Opposition of spreading lies about the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) by questioning constitutional institutions and disrespecting the people’s mandate.

Addressing the ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ padyatra in Bihar’s Bhagalpur, Mr. Nabin added that the Congress has been voted out of power due to corruption and misgovernance, while the BJP, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remains committed to development, public welfar,e and national security.

Bihar BJP State president Sanjay Saraogi, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) national president Santosh Suman were also present.

“The BJP and the NDA alliance are undertaking padyatras across the country to protect democracy, while, on the other hand, Opposition leaders were seen spreading lies at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi yesterday. The people of the country are well aware of the Opposition’s politics of falsehood,” Mr. Nabin said.

At the INDIA bloc’s mega rally in the national capital on Sunday (November 1, 2026), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had accused Mr. Modi of “stealing votes” and said legal action would be taken against him.

“The Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Yadav and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are disrespecting the mandate given by the people. Disrespecting the people’s mandate amounts to insulting the people of Bihar. Opposition leaders should learn from their failures. Had the Congress learned from its defeat in 2014, it would not have faced another such defeat in 2019,” Mr. Nabin said.

In response to Mr. Gandhi’s declaration that the Opposition would continue its fight to ensure accountability and justice, Mr. Nabin accused the Congress leader of working for a “foreign toolkit”. The BJP chief said that Mr. Gandhi should worry about his own family, while the BJP would take care of the entire nation.

“The country will not be governed by the laws of the Nehru-Gandhi family of the Congress, but by the Constitution of India,” Mr. Nabin said.

He asserted that when the SIR began in Bihar last year, Congress leaders also levelled allegations of vote theft but did not file even a single complaint with the ECI.

The BJP president asked which ECI had been in office in 2014 that led to the Congress losing the general election that year, adding that the Congress should understand the real reasons behind its defeat.

“The Congress lost the elections due to corruption. Whether it was the issue of national security or terrorist attacks, the Congress failed on every front. It was involved in corruption scandals such as the 2G scam, the Commonwealth Games scam, and the coal scam. It was for these very reasons that the people of the country rejected the Congress,” Mr. Nabin said.

He explained that instead of learning lessons from the 2014 election, the Congress had started blaming EVMs. The Opposition must explain why, when it wins an election, it is considered a victory for democracy, but when it loses, democracy suddenly comes under threat, Mr. Nabin said.

“Elections were held in Tamil Nadu and Kerala after the SIR exercise. When Opposition parties won there, they did not see any threat to democracy. Democracy is not under threat; rather, the Opposition’s hold on power is under threat. In the coming days, the people will not even consider the Opposition parties worthy of occupying the opposition role,” Mr. Nabin said.

He added that the credit for the BJP’s success in 2019 goes not to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, but to the people of the country. In 2024 as well, the people extended their support to the BJP, he said.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.