Shatrughan Sinha to share dais with Rahul Gandhi today

GAYA: Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who recently joined Congress after ending his long political career with BJP, will address an election rally and hold a roadshow with Congress president Rahul Gandhi in support of Mahagathbandhan’s Gaya nominee and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi on Tuesday. This will be Shatrughan’s first election meeting as Congress functionary in the state.


Congress leader Md Moosa said apart from Rahul and Shatrughan, leader of opposition in state assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav will also address the meeting. The Mahagathbandhan leaders will then hold a roadshow in Gaya town.

Congress, it may be recalled, is not contesting any of the four seats in the Magadh division. While HAM(S) is contesting two seats – Gaya and Aurangabad – the RJD has fielded its candidates from Nawada and Jehanabad. All these four constituencies will go to polls in the first phase on April 11.

According to AICC member Vijay Kumar Mithu, the Congress chief will address the rally at Gandhi Maidan here at 12 noon. He was earlier scheduled to address the rally at 2pm. Releasing the revised schedule, Mithu said party members have been asked to leave no stone unturned to make the rally a success.

This will be Rahul’s first election meet at the historic Gandhi Maidan here. His great grandfather and first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, grandmother Indira Gandhi, father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi have addressed public meetings at the venue in the past. Gaya’s Gandhi Maidan is one of the very few places in the country where urns of Mahatma Gandhi have been preserved.

Congress district president Chandrika Yadav alleged that NDA was wooing undesirable elements and Bindi Yadav, a former Crime Control Act detainee, even shared dais with the CM. JD(U) national general secretary Afaque Ahmad Khan, however, said since Bindi had not been convicted by any court of law, he was like any other law abiding citizen in the eyes of law.

Bindi is out on bail in the infamous Gaya road rage case in which a Class 12 student, Aditya Sachdeva, was shot dead by his son Rocky Yadav for overtaking his vehicle on May 7, 2016.