'Sonia Gandhi's 'Rahul plane' will crash again at...': Amit Shah launches sharp attack at Rahul Gandhi in Jharkhand

Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah launched a fierce attack at Congress MP and LoP Rahul Gandhi, saying that "Sonia Gandhi's 'Rahul plane' is going to crash again at Deoghar airport in Jharkhand". 

Shah said this while addressing a rally in Jharkhand's Giridih ahead of the second phase of the state assembly polls, scheduled for November 20. 

"Sonia-ji is fond of launching her son. Sonia-ji tried to launch the 'Rahul plane' 20 times but it failed to land. It crashed 20 times. It is going to crash on the 21st time at the Deoghar airport," he said.

Accusing the Waqf board of capturing farmlands, he continued, "This waqf board is in the habit of grabbing land. In Karnataka, they have devouered assets of entire villages, 500 years old temples. They have grabbed farmlands. Tell me whether changes are required in the waqf boards or not. Hemant-babu and Rahul Gandhi oppose it, let them oppose it. BJP will pass a bill in Parliament for amendment to the Waqf Board Act and no one can stop it". 

Attacking the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government in the state, he claimed that "it has turned infiltrators into its vote banks", and announced to check illegal immigration, if the BJP is voted to power in the state.

"We will wipe out Naxalism and infiltration from Jharkhand," he said. 

Expressing confidence in the party's triumph in Jharkhand, Shah further claimed, "The JMM-led alliance has been shown the exit door in the first phase. Results are out -- BJP is going to form govt in Jharkhand."

Voter turnout in first phase surpasses the 2019 record: ECI 

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the voter turnout in the first phase till 5 p.m. was recorded at 64.86 per cent across 43 assembly constituencies, surpassing the 2019 record when that was 63.9 per cent. 

Voting on the remaining 38 constituencies will be held on November 20, with the counting scheduled for November 23.