Bihar polls: Rahul, Priyanka to address 15 poll rallies in all
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are likely to address around 15 rallies in all in poll-bound Bihar, party sources said on Wednesday, as the electoral contest hots up in the crucial Hindi heartland state.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who recently underwent a pacemaker implantation procedure, is set to address three rallies in Bihar along with a few press conferences as well, they said.
Rahul Gandhi began his campaign with two rallies in Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga on Wednesday. Priyanka Gandhi, who is presently in Wayanad, will visit Bihar later this week and address poll rallies.
Congress president Kharge and senior leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Kanhaiya Kumar and Independent MP Pappu Yadav are among the party's 40 star campaigners for the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls.
The party's Bihar affairs in-charge, Krishna Allavaru, its state unit chief Rajesh Ram, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, Sachin Pilot, Randeep Surjewala and Syed Naseer Hussain, as well as senior leaders Ashok Gehlot, Tariq Anwar, Gaurav Gogoi, Mohammad Jawed and Akhilesh Prasad Singh, are also on the list.
In a post on X, Venugopal said, "The Mahagathbandhan rallies in Sakra and Darbhanga today, under Rahul Gandhi ji and Tejashwi Yadav ji's leadership, has set the tone for an electrifying campaign to usher in a pro-people government that replaces the corrupt, communal and criminal NDA government currently in power."
"We are receiving more and more support from every segment of society with every passing day, and we are set for a solid victory in the upcoming elections!" he added.
Polling in Bihar will be held on November 6 and 11, and results will be announced on November 14.
The opposition INDIA bloc, which has the RJD, Congress and Left parties as the main constituents, has declared RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav its chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar polls.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
