Patna: The political temperature in Bihar is set to go up substantially as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi take a direct plunge in electioneering Friday. Both Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi will be addressing a series of rallies for their respective alliances in Bihar.
Prime Minister Modi will address three rallies – at Dehri-on Sone (Rohtas district), Gaya and Bhagalpur – to seek support for NDA nominees. According to BJP sources and reports from the districts Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will join Modi at the rallies in Dehri and Bhagalpur.
In Gaya, JD(U) leader in the Lok Sabha, Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan will share the dais with Modi.
Rahul will address two rallies – at Hisua in Nawada and Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district. Sources said that Tejashwi Yadav, the chief ministerial face of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, will join Rahul at Hisua, where Congress nominee Neetu Singh is taking on sitting BJP MLA Anil Singh.
In Kahalgaon, the former Congress president will be accompanied by Shaktisinh Gohil and other senior party leaders.
The BJP has already launched ‘carpet bombing’ campaign for the Bihar polls. Union Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president JP Nadda and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have already addressed meetings at various places.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the party’s manifesto for the Bihar polls Thursday. It promised free COVID-19 vaccine once it has been cleared by the ICMR among others.
From ally JD(U), its head Nitish Kumar is addressing 4-5 public meetings daily. He is also addressing virtual rallies to reach out to maximum number of voters.
In the opposition camp, Tejashwi is holding the fort in the absence of his father Lalu Prasad Yadav. Tejashwi is addressing 8-9 rallies daily to garner support for the RJD and Congress candidates.
The NDA in Bihar has the BJP, the JD(U), the HAM and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) of former Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahni. The rival group has five parties spearheaded by the RJD, and the Congress, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI-ML are its members.
The arrival of Modi and Rahul Gandhi on the campaign scene will heat up the poll temperature further.