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'Modi fails Bihar' trends on X as PM reaches Bihar

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National Heraldpublisher-detail-arrow
30th May, 2025 09:05 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded people in Bihar on Thursday, 29 May, that this was his 50th visit to the state since he took over as prime minister in 2014. While no reference was made to his predecessors, the insinuation was clear, that he cared for Bihar.

What he did not say was that around 20 of those visits were undertaken in 2015 and 2020, both election years. Five years later, another assembly election is due in the state by November and the PM is back on the trail.

The PM inaugurated the new airport terminal in Patna and laid the foundation of an airport in Bihta on the outskirts of the city on Thursday. He also took part in a road show in the state capital marked by sparse crowd and the PM himself staying inside his ‘foreign’ car.

People did not miss that he did not bother to even roll down the window to wave at the people, following a security advisory, it was speculated. In any case it was not related to elections as only the national flag was carried by the people who greeted him. On Friday, 30 May, he is due to address several public rallies in the state.

In India social media platform X has a relatively low reach and in Bihar its impact is claimed to be even lower. However, a little-known X handle, @WithLoveBihar, managed to generate a Twitter storm on Thursday with the hashtag #ModiFailsBihar.

BJP followers woke up to it later in the day and responded with a hashtag #BiharWithModi. The battle on X is likely to continue on Friday, 30 May when the former handle threatened to launch another storm with the hashtag #NoIndustriesNoVotesInBihar.  

The campaign predictably invited both trolls and sarcasm. While some dubbed the campaign as ill-informed and partisan, others felt it was a futile exercise as people in the state would continue to vote on the basis of their caste and whichever party pays them more. Others reacted by commenting that the state had been showered by ‘development projects’ in the last few years.

Some suggested that no matter what the level of investment, politicians would still siphon off the lion’s share. A sarcastic comment held that the state already had the extortion, kidnapping, land-grabbing and job-selling industries.

The campaign however did create embarrassment for NDA leaders in the state as the handle reminded them of the electoral promises made in 2015 and 2020, most of which remain unfulfilled.

It also drew attention that the PM’s special plane did not land anywhere in the state as the airports are too short for the plane to land. “Modi Ji's plane can land in UP, MP, Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat but it cannot land in Bihar,” it posted.

To add to the discomfiture of BJP leaders, a vocal YouTuber and BJP supporter Manish Kashyap took to several platforms to amplify the failed promises. ‘Modi Ji, if you can improve conditions in the hospitals of Bihar, I will vote for you’, Kashyap is heard saying, ‘ but if you cannot then you will not need my vote’. Kashyap had created a stir by appealing to people not to attend the PM’s rallies, alleging that bus-loads of people were collected on payment of amounts ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 1,000.

On Thursday, he modified his appeal, possibly realising that people would attend the rallies in any case. Attend the rallies, he said, but ask the local leaders who mobilise you if they would be available in your hours of need. Go with them, if they say yes, he concluded.

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