Patna: A sea of humanity greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he held a mega road show here in Patna on Sunday evening. This was for the first time in the history of Bihar where a Prime Minister has held a road show as part of the campaign for any candidate contesting a Lok Sabha election here.
Flanked by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Modi’s road show was organised as part of canvassing for the BJP candidate from Patna Sahib and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Thousands of people, including women, rubbed shoulders while waiting enthusiastically to have a "dekko of Modo". Queued on both sides of the roads for hours since late afternoon through which Modi’s open vehicle passed through, they kept chanting: “Modi, Modi.”
Buoyed by such overwhelming support, the 1.9 km-long road show by PM eventually turned into a 3.5 km-long road show before culminating at the Kargil Chowk near the historic Gandhi Maidan.
The concluding point too presented a festive look with all buildings decked up, while BJP supporters, dressed up in saffron-coloured outfits, showered rose petals on Modi. The younger generation remained busy clicking pictures and making videos of the mega event.
“This election, we will not lose even one seat in Bihar,” quipped Modi, in an apparent reference to the 2019 Lok Sabha result in the State where the NDA won 39 out of 40 parliamentary constituencies here. One seat was won by Congress.
The BJP nominee from Patna Sahib, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who defeated Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha in 2019 by over 3 lakhs votes, is this time pitted against former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar’s son Anshul Avijit, a political greenhorn, who is making his debut from this parliamentary constituency.
Shatrughan Sinha, meanwhile, has joined Trinamool Congress and is contesting Lok Sabha poll from Asansol as Mamata’s candidate in West Bengal.
SECURITY COVER
Earlier in Patna, there was tightest-ever security cover for the Prime Minister in the State Capital with four layers of cops, including 3000 personnel from the Bihar Police, paramilitary forces, National Security Guards (NSG) and the elite Special Protection Group (SPG), performing as a shield to Modi.
Modi, who stayed back in Patna at Raj Bhawan on Sunday night had ‘Moong ki Khichdi’ for dinner. On May 13, he is scheduled to have ‘Daliya’ (Porridge) in the breakfast, before leaving for Takht Harmandir Sahib, the birth place of Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, in Patna Saheb.
Later, Modi will address three public meetings in Bihar on Monday beginning with a rally for the LJP (R) chief Chirag Paswan at Hajipur, followed by another rally in Muzaffarpur for the BJP candidate Raj Bhushan Choudhary and in the afternoon for former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who is contesting from his traditional seat Saran. Rudy is pitted against Lalu’s younger daughter Rohini Acharya who is making her poll debut from her father’s bastion.
Published 12 May 2024, 17:06 IST