Bihar elections: NDA targets RJD-Congress over insult to PM Modi's mother, woos women voters

A day after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ended his 14 days long yatra in Bihar against the alleged manipulation of voters list, the ruling NDA was back to wooing its most loyal voter base, the women.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the launch of a new women’s cooperative credit initiative in Bihar to hit back at the opposition over a controversial remark against his late mother, turning a personal affront into a wider political appeal.

Speaking via video conference at the inauguration of the Bihar Rajya Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh, the Prime Minister framed the comment made at a recent opposition rally in the state as not just an insult to his mother, but to “every mother, sister and daughter of the nation.”

The sharp retort comes as the NDA, led by the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), seeks to fortify its traditional support among women voters—long seen as a decisive bloc in Bihar politics. Nitish Kumar, who built his political legacy on welfare schemes for women such as bicycle distribution for girl students, prohibition, and community-based self-help groups under Jeevika, has repeatedly acknowledged that women’s vote is what kept him in power during challenging elections.

So, while the jury is still out as to how much would Rahul Gandhi’s high-octane yatra, which also featured participation of leading alliance partners, would impact the poll outcome, but the NDA is back to change the issues being discussed in the state.

The controversial remark against Modi’s mother was allegedly made at the Opposition’s rally during the vote adhikar yatra. Modi tied the insult to his mother with a broader narrative of respect and empowerment for women. “Bihar is a land where mothers are worshipped as Ganga Maiya, Kosi Maiya, and Janaki Ji. In this land, to abuse a mother is to abuse our very culture,” he said, before contrasting his government’s policies—ranging from toilets and pucca houses in women’s names to Lakhpati Didi and Drone Didi initiatives—with what he described as the opposition’s “anti-women mindset.”

For the NDA, the timing is strategic. With Bihar headed for a crucial election in next two months, and women comprising nearly half of the electorate, mobilising this constituency is central to its strategy. Modi’s emotional reference to his mother and invocation of Chhathi Maiya and Satbahini Puja traditions in Bihar was designed to resonate with the state’s cultural idioms and women’s deeply religious sensibilities.

Addressing the people, the Prime Minister said that while he may forgive those who insulted his mother, the soil of India has never tolerated disrespect towards mothers.

“The opposition has insulted mothers, but Bihar’s women have always responded to arrogance and injustice,” Modi declared, urging voters to hold the INDIA bloc accountable.

The Prime Minister called upon the people of Bihar, especially its sons, to take responsibility for responding to the insult directed at mothers. He told the audience that the people go after the opposition parties to make them “hear the voice of the people saying that the insult to mothers will not be tolerated and any attack on dignity will not be accepted.”

He stated that the oppression and assault by opposition parties will not be tolerated and accepted.

Modi has made clear that the BJP and its allies are likely to turn the insult hurled against his mother into a potent election issue as the state goes to the polls.