Bihar's Election Fever: Intense Campaigns by Political Heavyweights Close

Electioneering concluded in Bihar with extensive campaigning by major political figures for the 40 Lok Sabha seats. Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other leaders actively canvassed voters. Voting for the final phase is set for Saturday, determining the fate of over 100 candidates among 7.6 crore voters.

Electioneering drew to a close in Bihar on Thursday, as the eastern state remained witness to intense campaigning by political heavyweights spanning over two months for 40 Lok Sabha seats with more than 7.6 crore voters.

Star campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, BJP president J P Nadda, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav canvassed for their party nominees in the politically crucial state.

On Thursday, campaign ended for eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, where the fate of more than 100 candidates will be decided by over 1.60 crore voters in the seventh and final phase of polls.

Voting is scheduled at Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Nalanda, Jehanabad, Buxar, Sasaram and Karakat on Saturday.

The Prime Minister continued leading the NDA's campaign, with rallies in Buxar and Patliputra, which the BJP seeks to retain, and in Karakat where an ally is in the fray.

In the last general elections, 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar were bagged by the NDA and the PM seemed determined to ensure another great performance by the coalition, with altogether 15 rallies in the state, where polls were staggered across all seven phases, besides s roadshow in the capital city.

Shah, too, chipped in, with rallies in Karakat and the reserved seat of Sasaram, another constituency which the BJP seeks to retain.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who was last seen in the state for a rally at Bhagalpur more than a month ago, flew down to address three back-to-back election meetings in Patna Sahib, which his party is contesting, and in Patliputra and Arrah, for allies RJD and CPI(ML)L, respectively.

BJP president J P Nadda canvassed in Arrah, where Union minister R K Singh is aiming at a hat-trick, besides Nalanda and Jehanabad, which ally JD(U), headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, seeks to retain.

Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress president, campaignedin Patna Sahib and Sasaram, which is also being contested by the party.

In Karakat, NDA candidate Upendra Kushwaha, who heads the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, received ample support from the BJP as, besides the PM and the home minister, two rallies were held in his support by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Singh also canvassed in Patna Sahib and Buxar, urging the people at all his rallies to excuse him for speaking while remaining seated on account of a recent injury in the leg.

With the BJP in the fray in altogether five of the last-phase seats in Bihar, regional sartraps were also pressed into service.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned in Patna Sahib and Arrah while Madhya Pradesh counterpart Mohan Yadav did the same in Patna Sahib and Patliputra.

Patna Sahib has former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad seeking re-election and he received some more support from ex-cabinet colleagues Nirmala Sitharaman and Smriti Irani, both of whom interacted with renowned citizens of the state capital, which falls in the constituency.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi was also in Bihar to shore up support for the AIMIM candidates in Patliputra and Karakat, where he lambasted the RJD-Congress-Left combine, and vowed to support a government at the Centre, which did not have ''Modi or any other BJP leader as the prime minister''.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who claimed to have set a record of sorts by addressing more than 250 rallies in the multiple phase elections, carried out his campaign seated in a wheelchair with a belt wrapped around his injured back.