Reader TTS

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is set to challenge Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in his home district Nalanda where he will address a party-sponsored

Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) conference on 6 June. As Bihar gears up for assembly elections in October-November, this meeting is considered crucial for the opposition INDIA Alliance. The

event was planned to be held on 27 May, but permission was reportedly not granted for the venue by the district administration. Advertisement As the Congress party is trying again to

organise the EBC Conference, the party leaders are apprehensive that new hurdles will come their way as both Nalanda and EBCs have special places in Nitish’s heart. And he will not allow

opposition parties’ attempt to break into the constituency of EBCs that he has nurtured for years to improve his electoral clout in Bihar. Advertisement On 18 May, Jan Suraaj Party founder

Prashant Kishor had reached Kalyan Bigha, the native village of Nitish Kumar, to launch a signature campaign. However, the local administration had stopped him from entering the village for

a face-to-face interaction with the residents. On 15 May, the Darbhanga district administration’s last minute denial for permission to hold Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with Dalits and backward

class students was dubbed as the state government’s ploy to sabotage the event. As the Congress leader defied the local administration’s directive, he was booked for violating the order and

a case was registered against him and other party leaders. This will be Rahul Gandhi’s fifth Bihar visit this year. With his back-to-back visits, the party is trying to activate and

strengthen its organisation in the state as well as to break into OBC-EBC vote. Advertisement