PM Modi begins 2-day visit to poll-bound Bihar today, roadshow and rally in agenda
From flagging off construction of a new airport and inaugurating a new terminal at an old one, and a six-km roadshow in Patna to a public meeting in Bikramganj, Rohtas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the state starting Thursday has a packed itinerary.
This is Modi's third visit to the poll-bound state since February but the first after India's strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack and the escalating tensions on the border earlier this month.
The roadshow will be from Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport to the state Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters at Bir Chand Patel Path via Patna's lifeline, Bailey Road, the party said. This comes months before the assembly election in Bihar.
'The prime minister will stop at 32 places to accept people's greetings, especially for India's befitting reply to Pahalgam attack through Operation Sindoor,' BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal said, adding the PM had been visiting Bihar to send across the message that 'the country would not bend, and the development of Bihar will not stop'.
Before the roadshow, Modi will inaugurate the new Rs 1,200-crore terminal at Patna airport and flag the construction of the new airport at Bihta, a suburb 25 km from the main city.
The Rs 459-crore Bihta airport project is a brownfield one – built on an existing airport infrastructure, in this case an existing Indian Air Force base — and is the second airport in Patna. It will be connected to Patna via a 25-km overbridge, also underway. The PM will also visit Bikramganj for a public gathering Friday, where he is expected to speak on Operation Sindoor at rally and unveil several development initiatives worth thousands of crores.
Visiting Vikramganj is part of the prime minister's rotational Bihar trip ahead of Bihar Assembly polls, due this October-November. In February, Modi visited Bhagalpur, which was followed by his visit to Darbhanga in April.
Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
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