PM Modi to launch NDA's election campaign in Bihar on April 2

PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is arriving in Bihar on Tuesday to formally launch the NDA’s Lok Sabha election campaign in the state by addressing two public rallies at Jamui and Gaya.


Both Jamui and Gaya seats are going to polling in the first phase on April 11 along with Nawada and Aurangabad (Bihar).

Police sources said PM Modi will land at Gaya international airport around 2 pm on Tuesday. From the airport, he will fly for Jamui by helicopter and return to Gaya around 4.45 pm. His scheduled programme might be shifted for 10 to 20 minutes due to security reasons especially in the wake of the Maoists’ call for bandh in entire Magadh region on the same day, a senior police officer familiar with the PM’s Bihar visit told TOI on Monday evening.

Sources said PM Modi will reach Jamui at around 3 pm and address an election rally near Nariyana bridge under Khaira block in favour of the NDA candidate Chirag Paswan who is son of the Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan. An official candidate of the LJP, Chirag is seeking re-election from Jamui. The Opposition’s grand alliance has fielded RLSP’s Bhudeo Choudhary (former MP) against Chirag.

From Jamui, Modi will return Gaya airport at around 4.45 PM and reach the rally venue at Gaya’s Gandhi Maidan around 5 pm. He will seek votes in favour of JD(U) candidate Vijay Kumar Manjhi who is pitted against former Bihar CM and grand alliance candidate Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, state’s agriculture minister and Gaya MLA Prem Kumar, Bihar legislative council’s former chairman Awadesh Narayan Singh and BJP’s state general secretary

Rajendra Singh

will also share dais with the PM at Gaya rally. Coincidentally, it would be the CM’s first election campaign address in the current polls.

At Jamui rally, BJP’s national general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Bhupender Yadav, its state president Nityanand Rai, state’s road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav, health minister Mangal Pandey, former minister and JD(U) leader Ashok Choudhary, LJP MP Ramchandra Paswan and former minister Samrat Choudhary also would address the rally seeking votes for Chirag.

Coincidentally, both Jamui and Gaya constituencies from where the PM would be launching the NDA campaign in Bihar are reserved seat for the scheduled caste. In 2014 general election, BJP’s Hari Manjhi had won Gaya seat but this year it went in quota of JD(U) as part of the seat-sharing among the NDA partners comprising BJP, JD(U) and LJP.

State police and central government’s security forces in Jamui and Gaya are maintaining extra vigilance for PM’s visit as both the districts are famous for frequent unlawful activities of Maoists. In Gaya, security agencies have virtually sealed the town to ensure that no anti-social element reaches upto the PM’s rally venue.

A senior IPS officer who didn’t want to be identified fearing action from the Election Commission, said the Maoist-sponsored Magadh bandh call would have a very little impact on the PM’s Gaya rally as the Left wing extremists would not dare to come out on the roads to enforce bandh due to heavy presence of central forces in the area. The Maoist’s bandh call might have little impact in Imamganj and Dumaria localities of the district as security forces avoid going in those areas due to their proximity with Maoist-dominated Jharkhand border, he said.