LS polls: PM Modi to campaign in Bihar, UP today

PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead a roadshow in Patna on Sunday evening, followed by three election rallies elsewhere in Bihar, a day later.

This is the first political visit to the state capital by the prime minister since the March 2009 rally at the historic Gandhi Maidan. He was on an official visit here a couple of years ago for a function held by the Bihar Assembly.

Foolproof security arrangements are in place across the city. There will be a complete ban on flying drones in any locality and plying of vehicles will remain suspended on the roadshow route, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajeev Mishra told. 

The roadshow will commence at the Income Tax office roundabout, situated a few hundred metres from the state BJP headquarters, and conclude at Udyog Bhavan in the vicinity of Gandhi Maidan, passing through crowded localities like Fraser Road, Exhibition Road, Kadam Kuan and Sahitya Sammelan.

Barricades have been erected on both sides of the road along the route and commercial establishments, which are aplenty in the area, are likely to remain closed, even as the SSP said forces would be deployed on rooftops of many buildings to keep a tight vigil.

The BJP is predictably enthused by the prime minister's blitzkrieg that comes just a day ahead of the fourth phase of polling elsewhere in the state, with three more still to go. Posters and billboards urging the people to turn up for The Modi Show have been put up at various points.

The people of the city are known for their immense affection for the prime minister. We request them to welcome Modi, the first PM to hold a roadshow in Bihar, by decorating their houses with flowers, said Ravi Shankar Prasad, a former Union minister and the local BJP MP, seeking re-election from Patna Sahib seat.

Prasad also hit the streets late Saturday evening, along with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and state BJP president Samrat Choudhary, among others, to take stock of the preparedness for the roadshow.

Ram Kripal Yadav, who represents the adjoining constituency of Patliputra, covering rural Patna, said, I may be the MP of Patliputra but I am a voter of Patna Sahib. The prime minister's visit to the city is a matter of pride for me.

After the roadshow, the Prime Minister is scheduled to retire for the night at the Raj Bhavan. On Monday, he is scheduled to visit Takht Harmandir, the famous Sikh shrine situated in the old city area, where Guru Gobind Singh was born and spent his childhood. He will, thereafter, hit the campaign trail and address election rallies in Hajipur, where BJP ally Chirag Paswan is in the fray, besides Muzaffarpur and Saran, which is witnessing a heated contest between saffron party veteran Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Rohini Acharya, daughter of RJD president Lalu Prasad. Modi has already held as many as seven election rallies in the state where the total number of Lok Sabha seats is 40.