If T20 cricket captain Suryakumar Yadav had only cited the upcoming Bihar election to justify characterising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as someone “who bats on the front foot, takes the strike and scores runs”, he would have been on surer ground with definitely a stronger case to argue than he did by crediting the PM for the Asia Cup triumph, which earned Yadav nothing but ridicule.
Modi, like a true captain, is leading the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United)-Lok Janshakti Part axis from the front in Bihar – which goes to the polls on November 6 and 11 – exactly as he did in Maharashtra and Haryana plunging the Congress Party and its regional allies into gloom and despair.
Infrastructure bounty?
And nothing testifies to Modi’s resolve and determination to retain Bihar at any cost than the big, fat figure of Rs 1,36,000 crore and sortie after sortie after sortie to the backward and caste-ridden poll-bound province since early 2025 -- long before the Election Commission flagged off the hotly contested race in the heart of India.
Rs 1,36,000 crores is the sum total of the cost of all the central projects Modi has inaugurated or laid the foundation stone in Bihar from February to October 6, when the election schedule was announced. I doubt whether sops on such a massive scale have ever been announced before any Assembly election.
The largesse bait (call it investment if you like) that Modi is dangling before an impoverished state like Bihar to boost the National Democratic Alliance’s poll prospects, is only marginally less than the budgetary allocation this financial year for education for the entire country!
Modi set the tone early for Bihar’s assembly election
Notably, with an eye on the elections, Modi travelled to Bihar at least once every month since February to launch central projects. During some months, he visited Bihar more than once. He didn’t go to Bihar in March but sent his compliments to Biharis from Delhi on the occasion of Bihar Day on March 22.
The inauguration-foundation stone laying spree started on February 24 from Bhagalpur with Modi transferring the 19th pay-out of the PM-Kisan Scheme into farmers’ bank accounts across India at the click of a mouse.
Importantly, after every official function, the PM addressed huge public rallies organised at government expense for political messaging and blatantly seeking votes. And each time, he invariably targeted the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress Party and lauded the JD(U)-BJP dispensation.
Modi’s next visit to Bihar was on April 24, when he travelled to Madhubani district to inaugurate development projects worth Rs 13, 480 crore during an event to mark National Panchayat Raj Day. Speaking at Jhanjharpur in poll-bound Bihar barely two days after the Pahalgam terrorist killings, Modi proclaimed in English that the perpetrators “would be pursued to the end of the earth and punished beyond their imagination”. Modi had cut short a state visit to Saudi Arabia after the Pahalgam carnage, only to deliver an ultimatum to the killers from Jhanjharpur of all places
After Operation Sindoor, Modi next visited Bihar’s Rohtas district on May 30 to flag off infrastructure projects worth Rs 48,500 crore. Addressing a large public meeting organised in Bikramganj at government expense, Modi told the audience that he had “honoured the vow” he took in Bihar the previous month – and then gunned for the RJD and Congress Party! Predictably, he also dwelt at length on the significance of the sindoor to harvest crores of women’s vote in the upcoming elections.
BJP’s leadership pulls out all stops
During last week’s visit to find out how various political parties are running their campaigns and assess the outcome of the November elections, a top businessman in Patna confided that Modi’s unwavering focus on the state for months on end reminded him and many others of warrior Arjun’s “eye of the bird” strategy immortalised in the Mahabharat.
But others I met strongly felt that Modi is laying it on a bit thick. They will, of course, bite their tongue if Modi’s Herculean efforts pay off and BJP-JD(U)-LJP combine is re-elected for another term.
But let’s not forget that the caste calculus can upset the best strategies in Bihar. In fact, I found that the opposition is in a good place thanks to the caste factor, but a regime change is possible only if the elections are free and fair, as I underlined in the first piece of this two-part series.
Taking a cue from Modi, other BJP heavyweights too are pulling out all stops to win the battle of Bihar. I was particularly amused by Finance Minister Nirmala presenting the Budget draped in a cream-coloured sari showcasing an array of Madhubani art! Now that the countdown has begun, other BJP honchos are bound to pop up in Bihar, bringing the elections to life.
With less than 10 days to go before the votes are cast, I have little doubt that the Bihar election is vying with Trump’s tariff in the PM’s headspace.
(This is the second article of a two-part series based on the mood on the ground.)
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
