Samastipur/Begusarai, 24 Oct

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched his Bihar Assembly poll campaign with back-to-back rallies in Samastipur and Begusarai districts, asserting that the NDA under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will break all previous electoral records.

The PM also called the INDIA bloc a "mahalathbandhan" (a tie-up in which people beat each other with sticks), a mocking reference to 'Mahagathbandhan' or grand alliance, as the Oppositioncoalition is commonly known.

He also alleged that leaders of the RJD and the Congress, the two largest constituents of the INDIA bloc, were "most corrupt and out on bail", and, despite having been out of power for decades, they were arrogant enough to snub alliance partners like JMM, and "take for a ride" the Vikassheel Insaan Party, which did not get a favourable share of seats but its founder Mukesh Sahni has been promised the deputy CM's post.

At both the rallies, the PM asked the crowds to switch onthe lights of their mobile phones, and in a dig at the RJD, said, "When there is so much light all around, there is no need for the lantern".

The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on 6 and 11 November with results set to be announced on 14 November.

At the Samastipur rally, the PM said unlike the INDIA bloc, the NDA was cohesive, pointing towards JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, Union Ministers Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, the chiefs of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Hindustani Awam Morcha respectively, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, who heads Rashtriya Lok Morcha, all of whom were present on the stage.

In Begusarai, Modi raked up the alleged mistreatment metedout to late Sitaram Kesri, "the pride of Bihar and a towering backward leader" from whom the post of Congress president was snatched away at the instance of "the parivaar" (Nehru-Gandhi family).

Showering praise on Nitish Kumar, who seeks a fifth consecutive term in office, Modi alleged, "He came to power in 2005, but nearly a decade of his tenure was hampered by a hostile Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, which was constantly blackmailed by the RJD that it would withdraw support if cooperation was extended to the NDA government in Bihar".

The PM added, "The central assistance extended to Bihar in the last 11 years is three times what the state had received from the previous government. The state has turned the corner. It is now exporting fish, a far cry from the days when it was dependent on other states for its own needs. Makhana, which is a famous produce of Bihar, has access to markets far and wide".

"Bihar is now an attractive investment destination. I foresee a future in which every district will be teeming with startups of local youths", Modi said.

"All this would not have been possible had there been 'jungle raj' in Bihar. Don't you remember that a former PM had said that of every rupee spent by the government, only 15 paise reached the people. The money used to be devoured by a blood-stained hand (khooni panja)", said Modi, in an obvious reference to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the poll symbol of Congress, the RJD's alliance partner.

Modi asserted that Bihar will keep the 'jungle raj' at bay and vote for good governance.

The PM also urged women voters, whom he called "worst sufferers of 'jungle raj" to "slam your doors shut on Congress and RJD", and remember that leaders of these parties had opposed the women's reservation bill when it was brought in Parliament.

"'Nayee raftar se chalega Bihar, phir jab aayegi NDA sarkar' (Bihar's growth will speed up once NDA returns to power). RJD and Congress indulged in scams, their leaders are out on bail, and now they are trying to steal the 'Jannayak' title of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur," he added.

"Also, under the RJD rule, a dozen-and-a-half districts of Bihar were infested with Maoist insurgency. Hundreds of people were murdered. When I came to power in 2014, I pledged to bring Maoism to an end. With utmost humility and satisfaction, I can say that we have broken the spine of Maoism. Soon, the entire country will be free of the menace. This is Modi's guarantee", the PM added.

Modi also said, "In the last assembly polls in Gujarat, where the party has been in power for 30 years, all previous records were broken. Similar was the case in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana. I am confident that in Bihar, too, under Nitish Kumar, the NDA will break all previous records," he said.

Prior to addressing the rally, the PM had visited Karpoori Gram, the village named after former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, a backward class stalwart on whom the Bharat Ratna was conferred, posthumously, about a couple of years ago.

Modi also thanked the people for "turning up in such large numbers, even though the upcoming festival of Chhath must be putting a demand on your time".

He also referred to the recent revision in GST rates and remarked, "hope you all are enjoying the festival of savings (bachat-utsav), too".