Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Bikramganj in Rohtas district of Bihar, said that India’s fight against terror will continue and that Operation Sindoor was just one arrow in the country’s quiver. “They should understand that India’s fight against terrorism has neither stopped nor halted. If the hood of terror rises again, India will crush it by pulling it out of its hole,” PM Modi said, adding the terrorists considered themselves safe under the protection of the Pakistani Army.
“Pakistan and the world have seen the power of India’s daughters’ Sindoor. The world has seen the unprecedented valour and courage of the BSF during Operation Sindoor,” said PM Modi, amid much cheering and hooting from the crowd.
This was the second public meeting that PM Modi addressed in poll-bound Bihar after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Assembly elections are scheduled in Bihar later this year. He recalled announcing during his last visit to the state that the hideouts of the terrorists who carried out the April 22 attack in Pahalgam would be busted. While mentioning this, the prime minister, in an unusual move, had switched to English. In his Friday rally, he mentioned that he has kept his promise and India’s defence forces managed to bust terrorist hideouts in Pakistan under Operation Sindoor.
“Sasaram (the district headquarters of Rohtas) has the word ‘Ram’ in it. Ram’s policy had been one of pran jaaye par vachan na jaaye (promises must be kept even at if life is at stake). Ram’s riti (the way of functioning) is now India’s niti (policy). India’s fight against terrorism will not stop. I had promised from Bihar that those who had widowed our sisters during the Pahalgam attack would be taken to task. Our defence forces have destroyed the hideouts of terrorists,” he said.
PM Modi also talked about BSF Sub-Inspector Mohammad Imtiaz, a soldier from Bihar’s Saran district, who was killed in cross-border shelling in Jammu and Kashmir’s RS Pura sector on May 10. “While performing the sacred duty of serving the motherland, BSF Sub Inspector Imtiaz laid down his life at the border on 10 May. I pay my respectful tribute to this son of Bihar,” he said.
The prime minister’s visit to poll-bound Bihar is significant. While the focus of his visit has revolved around development and elaborating on the crackdown on terrorism, political analysts feel the larger focus is on elections scheduled in the second half of the year. Ahead of the rally, Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Samrat Choudhary reiterated that this is Modi’s 50th visit to Bihar ever since he has become the Prime Minister. “This goes on to show how concerned he has been for the development of this state,” he said.
When asked if it was necessary to talk about Operation Sindoor at a rally that was essentially organised to announce development projects in the state and wasn’t really an election rally, Niraj Kumaj, spokesperson, BJP, Bihar, said: “The Opposition should not politicise every issue. It does not matter if it was an election rally or not. The prime minister can talk about the valour of our defence forces and what they have managed to achieve through Operation Sindoor from any platform. I think, the Opposition keeps bringing it up because the Centre is now focusing on the development of Bihar, something that they were not able to focus on.”
After arriving in Bihar, PM Modi inaugurated and launched development projects worth Rs 48,500 crore, including three road and railway projects each and two phases of the Nabinagar thermal power project at Aurangabad. PM Modi first inaugurated the new terminal building of the Jaya Prakash Narayan International Airport at Patna, constructed at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore. The new airport can handle up to one crore passengers annually. After the airport engagements, Prime Minister Modi held a grand roadshow from Patna Airport to the BJP state headquarters. Harping on the development plank in the caste-ridden state of Bihar, he laid the foundation for NTPC’s Super Thermal Power Project (2400 MW) in Aurangabad’s Nabinagar and for Patna-Sasaram four-lane and inaugurate the Patna-Bodh Gaya four-lane constructed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
While addressing the rally at Bikramganj, he said: “Whenever Bihar has progressed, India has reached the pinnacle in the world.” He also said that the Centre is providing four crore new houses, mission to make three crore didis lakhpatis, free treatment and free ration every month. “We want that no poor family should be deprived of the government schemes. I am happy that the Bihar government is also running many schemes for the development of the people. Our aim is to reach directly to the homes of the Dalits, poor, backward and extremely backward people. When the government itself reaches out to the beneficiaries, there is no discrimination and no corruption. And, only then there is true social justice,” PM Modi said at the rally.
PM Narendra Modi attacked the Opposition, primarily the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). “For decades, the poor, Dalits, backward and tribals did not even have toilets or permanent houses. They did not have bank accounts. They were not even allowed to enter the doors of banks. Dalits and poor were homeless. This plight and suffering of the people of Bihar was the social justice of Congress and RJD?” asked PM Modi and added: “Today, when the poor, Dalits and backward classes have left the Congress, they are remembering social justice to save their existence. A new dawn of social justice has been seen in the country during the NDA era. We are running many schemes for the development of the poor, Dalits and backward classes.”
The Bihar Election 2025 will be the first election the country will witness after Operation Sindoor. Will the timing of the election prove beneficial for the ruling NDA?
Bihar’s opposition alliance, comprising RJD, Congress, and Left parties, is voicing concerns about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's health and its potential impact on governance. They question who is truly in control of the state, citing Kumar's recent public gaffes and limited appearances. Speculations are rife that Nishant Kumar, the son of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, may contest the 2025 Bihar elections from Harnaut constituency.
Best known as a political consultant and strategist, Prashant Kishor has vowed to contest and win the Bihar Elections 2025. He is confident that his Jan Suraaj Party would win in Bihar “on its own” in 2025. Several opinion polls suggest that RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav is the top choice for the next Bihar chief minister. One of the opinion polls revealed that while the popularity of Yadav and Nitish Kumar declined, that of Prashant Kishor rose in six months. The C-Voter survey, suggested that Tejashwi Yadav was the most preferred candidate to be the next Bihar chief minister, followed by Prashant Kishor, making Nitish Kumar the third choice.
It was only last year that Nitish Kumar switched alliances for the fifth time. It was just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and joined hands with the BJP. The C-Voter survey also suggested that “pendulum swings” by Nitish in the last 10 years may have taken a toll on his “credibility and popularity”.
