Patna — Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said that his party will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections as part of the INDIA bloc.

Addressing party workers at the Congress state headquarters, Sadakat Ashram, Gandhi urged them to prepare for a decisive battle against the BJP and RSS in the state.

“You are the lions and tigers of the Congress. Get ready to fight,” Gandhi said. He praised the Congress workers’ dedication to the party’s ideology, saying, “The ideology of the Congress party is in your blood, in your DNA. You fight for Congress 24 hours a day. You are not afraid of the BJP or RSS, and for this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Gandhi’s announcement reaffirms the Congress party’s commitment to the INDIA bloc, a point of contention recently raised by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who suggested the alliance was solely focused on the Lok Sabha elections.

Gandhi declared that the BJP and RSS must be defeated in Bihar, and the INDIA alliance will achieve this by standing united.

During his address, Gandhi also criticized the current state of governance in Bihar, specifically targeting the education system. He alleged that the system has been “completely sold out,” leaving young people without job opportunities. He also said that young people in Bihar are unable to find employment and that inflation is skyrocketing, putting a strain on the poor.

Nitish Kumar currently leads a coalition government of Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar.