Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate the upcoming Bihar elections, similar to what they claim happened in Maharashtra last year. Speaking at the 'Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh' event, both leaders criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging it is biased in favor of the BJP and not fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. Rahul Gandhi vowed to stop both the BJP and the ECI from rigging the Bihar elections. He reiterated the Congress's allegation that the voter list was tampered with to help the BJP-led alliance win in Maharashtra in 2024. Gandhi also claimed that Odisha’s new BJP government is being controlled by industrialist Gautam Adani, and even accused the government of halting Puri’s Rath Yatra for Adani’s benefit—a claim that Odisha's Law Minister has dismissed as baseless.

Encouraging party workers, Gandhi referred to them as “Babbar Sher” (lions) and urged them to fearlessly fight for justice. In closed-door meetings after the public rally, Congress leadership urged its Odisha unit to end internal conflicts and work together to defeat the BJP. Gandhi further alleged that the BJP is systematically undermining the Constitution and only serves the interests of a handful of billionaires, not the general public. He emphasized that resources like water, forests, and land belong to the tribal communities and accused the BJP government of handing these over to corporates by not implementing key tribal rights laws like the PESA Act.

Both Gandhi and Kharge said that while the Congress government had enforced laws to protect tribal and forest rights, the BJP government has favored corporate interests instead. Gandhi also met with various community groups in Odisha and claimed that the state’s poor and marginalized groups are being ignored while wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few.

They also raised alarms about women’s safety in Odisha, alleging that over 40,000 women are missing and questioned the BJP government’s response to incidents like the Gopalpur gang rape. Kharge stated that Congress MPs would address these issues in Parliament. Gandhi advocated for a caste-based census in Odisha, similar to what has been done in Telangana under the Congress government, saying it’s essential for understanding the true demographic and economic status of different communities.

Kharge accused the BJP-led central government of trying to erase secularism and socialism from the Constitution and weaken laws meant to protect the poor. He further criticized the Modi government for selling off public sector enterprises established by previous Congress governments and alleged that Modi is working to dismantle the Constitution in favor of a few wealthy allies. Finally, Kharge mocked Prime Minister Modi’s silence on former US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He said Modi lacked the courage to defend India’s interests on the international stage, questioning his leadership.