The Congress began its Lok Sabha poll campaign in Bihar on Friday with party president Mallikarjun Kharge appealing to the people not to miss the opportunity to save the country, democracy and the Constitution, and stop the march of the divisive forces, else the coming generations will suffer.

Kharge addressed back-to-back public rallies at Kishanganj and Katihar Lok Sabha constituencies on Friday. He is the first senior Congress leader to campaign in Bihar during the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Several party leaders opined that the delayed canvassing by senior leaders was because there was no Congress contestant in the first phase of the elections, which ended on Friday. The party has allied with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), CPI, CPM, CPIML and Vikassheel Insan Party to contest the polls in Bihar under the banner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The two seats where Kharge held rallies will vote on April 26 during the second phase of the polls.

Incumbent Kishanganj Congress MP Mohammad Jawed is contesting to retain the seat, while former Union minister Tariq Anwar is the party’s candidate from Katihar.
“This election is to save the country, democracy and the Constitution. If we commit any mistake and miss this chance, everything will go out of our hands. Somebody will come and divide you all in the name of the Muslims and the Hindus, or in the name of castes or religions. If we fall in their trap, our coming generations will be destroyed,” Kharge said at Bahadurganj in Kishanganj constituency.

Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for telling lies, the Grand Old Party leader raised the issue of burgeoning unemployment across the country and reminded the voters about his (Modi’s) promise of ‘2 crore jobs per year’ and ‘bringing back black money stashed in other countries’ to buttress the point.