PATNA/NEW DELHI: With the Bihar Assembly elections heating up, all eyes are on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallies on Friday in Samastipur and Begusarai districts. Modi is expected to pay tribute to late Karpoori Thakur, who served as Bihar chief minister in the 1970s and was awarded the Bharat Ratna this year for his work uplifting the downtrodden. This will be Modi’s first visit to Thakur’s home district of Samastipur after he was honoured with the country’s highest civilian honour.
The visit carries a striking irony: Modi will be campaigning against Karpoori Thakur’s granddaughter, Dr. Jagriti Thakur, fielded by Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, the rival of Modi-led NDA, from Morba assembly constituency. Karpoori Thakur’s son, Ram Nath Thakur, continues the family’s political legacy as a Rajya Sabha MP and Union Minister of State for Agriculture.
In Mithilanchal, comprising 30 seats, NDA holds 22, while the Mahagathbandhan controls eight. Modi’s rally in Samastipur, which is part of Mithilanchal, is part of a larger campaign, with him addressing seven rallies, Amit Shah 25, and BJP president JP Nadda and Rajnath Singh 22 each.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Modi held his second virtual interaction with party workers, urging them to stay in touch with first-time voters in Bihar, around 14.5 lakh. He suggested felicitating these voters, emphasising their role in shaping the state’s future. Modi highlighted development projects under the NDA—Makhana cultivation and startups, roads, bridges, airports, metros, and digital initiatives—emphasising that Bihar now speaks of progress, not migration.
Taking aim at the Opposition, he criticised the Mahagathbandhan, calling it a “Lathvandhan” formed for political gain and pointing to past ties with Naxal outfits. Praising CM Nitish Kumar, Modi said the state has moved from fear to public trust.
