PM Modi may visit Bhagalpur, Araria on April 6

PATNA: PM Narendra Modi is most likely to address rallies at Bhagalpur and Araria on strong demand by the NDA candidates in the two constituencies. The areas concerned have predominant presence of the backward and extremely backward castes, as well as the Muslims, specially in Bhagalpur, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria. CM Nitish Kumar would also launch his campaign from the same area on Wednesday.


“The electioneering schedule of PM and BJP’s other star campaigners is fixed as per the demand of the local NDA candidates and the party’s district units concerned,” a state BJP source said, adding Modi is “most likely to address two rallies on April 6. Since it is PM’s rally, therefore, the date is tentative but places are fixed.”

Bhagalpur would go to polls in the second phase on April 18. Election at Araria is scheduled in the third phase on April 23.

Except for Araria, which is in the BJP’s kitty, Banka, Bhagalpur, Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj have gone to the JD(U). JD(U) candidates are present MLA and former MP Girdhari Yadav (Banka), Nathnagar MLA Ajay Mandal (Bhagalpur), sitting MP Santosh Kumar Kushwaha (Purnia), MLA Dulalchand Goswami (Katihar) and Mohammad Ashraf (Kishanganj).

Their respective main rivals are sitting RJD MP Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav and former MP Putul Kumari Singh as an independent candidate in Banka, sitting RJD MP Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal (Bhagalpur), former MP Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh from Congress (Purnia), sitting MP Tariq Anwar from Congress (Katihar) and sitting MLA Dr Jawed from Congress (Kishanganj).

Bhagalpur and Banka in the Bhagalpur division, along with Purnia, Katihar and Kishanganj would have polling in the second phase. Technically, Araria also belongs to the Seemanchal, but election there is in the third phase.

CM Nitish is to embark on a whirlwind electioneering tour from April 3 when he would address public meetings in Purnia and Banka. He would also address a meeting in Bhagalpur on April 4. The electioneering by Nitish is also pegged to preparing the stage for the election tour of PM to Bhagalpur and Araria, as four of the five seats going to polls in the second phase are beset with rift among the local BJP and JD(U) on account of seat-sharing arrangement and candidate selection as well.

Former BJP’s state vice-president Putul, who has been expelled from the party for six years, has become a rebel candidate. She could not be mollified.

Similarly, BJP and JD(U) rank and file in Bhagalpur have yet not reconciled to the fielding of Nathangar MLA Ajay Mandal. While the district BJP’s thinking has been that Bhagalpur should have belonged to it, JD(U) rank and file are alienated that the party has not given “quality candidate to so important a constituency in eastern Bihar,” sources said.

The lack of synergy among BJP and JD(U) rank and file has also been reported from Purnia where BJP’s former MP Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh is a Congress candidate. He had lost to JD(U)’s Kushwaha in 2014. “Singh is considered honest and has also been sincere to the concerns of the constituency in his role as a local MP. BJP’s state brass was not on his side, though,” Raghav Singh from Sipahi Tola in Purnia said.