Now, focus on Bihar: PM to dole out more sops during visit

Patna: Close on the heels of Bihar being mentioned in the Union Budget multiple times, the poll-bound state will witness more largesse from the Centre when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Bihar on February 24.

This will be followed by a visit by President Droupadi Murmu, who will inaugurate the new building of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on February 25.

According to sources, Modi is expected to release the 19th instalment of the ‘PM Kisan Samman Nidhi’ to the country’s farmers at a function in Bhagalpur. This includes 82 lakh farmers of Bihar. Modi will also interact with farmers.

Besides doling out sops for farmers, Modi will likely lay the foundation stone of a Central University at Vikramshila Mahavihara in Bhagalpur district.

Later, the PM is likely to pave the way for air services from Bhagalpur, which is a long-pending demand from Eastern Bihar. In this connection, a new airport is likely to be developed in Bhagalpur on the lines of Darbhanga Airport, which has seen heavy air traffic growth in the last few years.

Bihar is scheduled to go to the polls in October. This is the only state in the Hindi belt where the BJP has never had its own CM since Independence.

It is against this backdrop that the BJP’s top leadership is leaving no stone unturned in wooing the electorate in an election year.

“Sops for farmers, foundation stone for a Central University, new air services from Bhagalpur and enhancing fast train connectivity are some of the scheduled agenda for PM on February 24,” said a senior ruling party member.

(The writer is a Patna-based journalist)