As the first phase of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 began on Thursday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Ministry of Railways of facilitating “vote buying” by arranging special trains to bring back migrant voters to Bihar.
Tejashwi alleges that the Modi government was using the Railways to influence the polls, alleging that return tickets were also being provided to migrant workers to ensure they vote in favour of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“The Ministry of Railways is arranging special trains to send migrant workers from Bihar to Bihar to vote in favor of BJP, and return tickets are also being provided! This is the same Modi government that was cramming these migrant workers into trains during Chhath. At that time, no arrangements were made for the migrant Biharis,” Yadav alleged.
Hitting out at the Centre for the handling of special trains during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020-21, Yadav alleged that the party is showing its “double standards” while only looking for their own benefit.
“Even during the COVID, Bihar’s workers walked thousands of kilometers to return home, but no special trains were arranged for them. Now, when elections are at stake, these people are showing their double standards for their own benefit,” he said.
The Railway Ministry has not yet issued any response to these allegations.
Indian Railways’ Official Festive Schedule
According to official data, Indian Railways has been running special trains across the country during the festive season between October 1 and November 30 to manage heavy passenger traffic during Diwali and Chhath Puja.
A Railway statement stated that over 12,000 special trains have been deployed nationwide during this period. So far, 11,865 trips (916 trains) have been notified- 9,338 reserved and 2,203 unreserved, marking a significant rise from last year’s 7,724 festive special trains.
Despite the political row, thousands of migrant voters have returned to Bihar from Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, and other states to participate in the polls scheduled for November 6 and November 11. Many migrant families travel home during this period not just for voting but also to celebrate Chhath, one of Bihar’s most important festivals.
Voting for the first phase began at 7 am across 121 constituencies in 18 districts, covering nearly 3.75 crore electors out of the state’s 243 seats. The polls will determine the political fate of key leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, BJP’s Samrat Choudhary and Mangal Pandey, and JD(U) leaders Shravan Kumar and Vijay Kumar Choudhary.
