PATNA: For the first time in the history of Patna, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roadshow here on May 12. This will be the first time in the history of Patna that the Chief Minister will hold a roadshow during assembly elections.
Prime Minister Modi will be on a two-day visit to Bihar to campaign for former law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, a former cabinet colleague and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Patna Sahib. In 2019, Ravi Shankar defeated Shatrughan Sinha, a rebel-turned-Congress candidate from the Bharatiya Janata Party, by a margin of more than 300,000 votes.
The Congress has fielded Anshul Avijit, son of former Congress president Meira Kumar, from Patna Sahib, as its Mahagathbandhan candidate. Anshul, who is also the Congress’ national spokesperson, will be making his debut from the constituency where the BJP has won the seat except twice since 1989.
The opposition RJD was quick to ridicule the saffron camp over PM Modi’s visit.
“Prime Minister Modi’s decision to hold a roadshow in Patna comes as Patna Sahib constituency is one of the Lok Sabha constituencies considered to be the safest seat for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar. It is quite surprising,” said Tejashwi, RJD leader and former deputy CM of Bihar. Yadav.
“The reason for Prime Minister Modi’s roadshow may be because he is upset about unemployment and the issue of rising prices, which we have raised in election after election. They are raking in non-issues like Muslims, Mangalsutra and others that have not been able to build much of a connection with voters,” Tejashwi added.
Prime Minister Modi will return to Patna on Sunday and leave for campaigning in three adjoining constituencies on Monday. On May 13, the Prime Minister will campaign for LJP candidate Chirag Paswan from Hajipur, followed by a rally for BJP candidate Raj Bhushan Nishad in Muzaffarpur.
He will also campaign for former Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Chhapra, which is now called Saran Lok Sabha constituency.
Rudy will be competing against Rohini Acharya, the second daughter of RJD leader Lalu Prasad, who shot to fame in Singapore by donating one of her kidneys to her ailing father. She is making her voter debut from the constituency where Lal first became an MP in 1977 at the age of her 28 years.
issued May 8, 2024, 23:48 IST
