Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 | Nitish missing at Modi's Patna rally as Anant Singh row brews

Patna: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a massive road show in Patna where thousands of people lined up on both sides of the road to get a glimpse of him.

This was the first time when Modi, who has been showering praise on Nitish Kumar for establishing the rule of law in Bihar, held a road show without the Bihar CM in tow.

Officially, it was said that Nitish could not join PM Modi during the road show as he was busy campaigning for his party nominees.

Unofficially, the NDA leaders cited two prime reasons for Nitish’s absence from the PM's mega event. “One is the health issue of Nitish, which is proving to be a huge embarrassment for everyone. Second, his decision to field controversial don-turned-politician Anant Singh, now arrested and sent to Beur jail on murder charge, from Mokama, has not gone down well with the top BJP leadership, which is attacking Mahagatbandhan for Jungle Raj,” averred a senior NDA leader.

Meanwhile, Modi, who started his road show in the state capital by offering tributes to noted poet Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar', crossed the narrow streets of Patna, waving at the crowd in the evening. Women, standing on the terrace, were seen offering aarti as a mark of respect towards the Prime Minister.

Flanked by the JD (U) leader and Union Minister Lallan Singh and Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal, Modi’s road show started from Dinkar Chowk and ended up at Udyog Bhavan near Gandhi Maidan. The roadshow was aimed to boost the prospects of BJP nominees from Patna district, which included Nitin Navin (Bankipore), Sanjeev Chaurasia (Digha) and Ram Kripal Yadav (Danapur).

This was the third time that Modi held a road show in Patna in the last 18 months. The first time he held a road show here was during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, while the second one was earlier this year after ‘Operation Sindoor’.