PM Modi, Amit Shah to visit Bihar in February

PATNA: PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are most likely to visit the state in February on two separate occasions, BJP sources said. “Shah would address the two-day backward castes and extremely backward castes national convention to be held in the city in mid-February,” said a state BJP source, adding that “PM’s visit would take place shortly after Shah’s, but at this stage it is tentative”.
The PM would be making development-related announcements, as the Election Commission is expected to declare the Lok Sabha election schedule and impose model code of conduct towards the end of the first week of March, they added.
BJP sources maintained that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora, in all probability, would announce the election schedule around March 6 — a couple of days after the NDA’s rally scheduled in Patna for March 3. Recently, state BJP president Nityanand Rai had also speculated on the same line, though by citing “media reports”.
The BJP convention of its BC and EBC Morcha is slated to be held on February 15 and 16 in which 6,000 delegates from across the country would participate, state BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said.
While Shah is expected to address the convention on the concluding day, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan are also expected to address it. Their detailed programme has not yet been received at the state BJP headquarters, though.
Similarly, the state BJP headquarters has “merely been sounded” about the PM’s visit. “I would say his visit is on the cards, but neither the date nor the venue has been fixed. He will make announcements about the new and ongoing development projects,” the sources said.
However, as the buzz is, both PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar would address a rally at Begusarai “most likely on or around February 17”. The PM is expected to touch on the developmental aspirations of people by making announcements concerning the revival of Barauni and Sindri fertilizer corporations with bulk supply of gas from Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), piped gas supply in cities, as well as regarding the railways and road projects.
Interestingly, PM and Shah would visit the state after Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who would address his party’s February 3 rally here at Gandhi Maidan.
Curiously, for the scheduled March 3 rally of the NDA at Gandhi Maidan that PM Modi and CM Nitish would address, the three NDA partners — JD(U), BJP and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — have planned joint canvassing and preparations.