Bihar beckons as PM, Rahul, Pawar to visit state in Feb
PATNA: The cream of India’s political leadership will descend on Bihar this month, raising an early bugle to the state’s assembly election slated for later this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has plans to go to Bhagalpur in eastern Bihar in February. The date for his visit is not yet known.
He will launch several welfare schemes for farmers and release the 19th instalment of the PM Kisan Nidhi Yojna that will benefit around 13 crore farmers nationwide. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, arrives in Patna on February 5, his second visit in less than a month.
State Congress president and Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh said that Gandhi will participate in the politically significant birth anniversary function of freedom fighter Jaglal Choudhary, popularly called “Gandhi of Bihar’.
Gandhi previously visited Patna on January 18 to address a ‘Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan’. He made it a point to meet BPSC exam candidates protesting paper leaks. He also called on RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Former Union minister and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar will also be in Bihar, his first in nearly two decades. He will land in Katihar on February 27 to discuss strengthening the party’s support base in Katihar and adjoining districts.
Katihar district is part of the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region of the state. Congress leader Tariq Anwar, a founding member of the undivided NCP, represents the Katihar Lok Sabha seat. The party reportedly eyes 150 of the 243 assembly constituencies.