Patna, Oct 20 (IANS): Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai was seen pleading before voters with folded hands to save his prestige in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

Rai, during a rally in the Senduari high school in Vaishali district on Monday evening, made the request 11 times from the stage. He was campaigning in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Awadesh Singh.

Vaishali is the home turf for Nityanand where he has been elected seven times as a public representative. He is an MP from the Ujiarpur constituency. If he fails to give an impressive show on his home turf, it could lead to an uneasy situation for him in Central politics.

"We are capable of fighting on the borders and if anyone comes one inch in our territory, we will push them back. But when it comes to fighting an election at home, I have no hesitancy to fold hands before our own people and request them for their support," Rai said while repeatedly using these lines in Vaishali to lure voters.

Vaishali district has eight Assembly constituencies, including Raghopur where Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejaswi Yadav has filed his nomination. The NDA leaders are also facing challenges from the Lok Jan Shakti (LJP) candidates after Chirag Paswan parted ways from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Paswan has a stronghold in Vaishali.

Due to 15 years of anti-incumbency against Nitish Kumar government, Rai along with others leaders of the NDA is facing the heat this time.