LS elections 2024: PM Modi to kick off NDA's campaign in Bihar today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off the NDA's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Bihar on Thursday with a rally, his first in the state since the announcement of the elections.

Modi, who is running for a third consecutive term in office, is scheduled to address the rally at Jamui around noon.

The Bihar Police have put in place a multi-tier security cover at the venue and its surroundings ahead of the PM's rally.

BJP ally Chirag Paswan, who has handed over the mantle to brother-in-law Arun Bharti after having represented Jamui, a reserved seat, two times on the trot, has been effusive in his praise for the prime minister for the gesture.

"It is a matter of pride for Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the people of Jamui that the prime minister has agreed to launch his campaign in Bihar from the constituency. We are committed to helping him achieve the target of 400-plus seats for the NDA, including all the 40 in Bihar," said Paswan.

Jamui is among the four Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, the other three being Aurangabad, Gaya and Nawada, which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19.

The BJP is contesting Aurangabad, where Modi had addressed a rally a week before the Election Commission announced the schedule of the Lok Sabha polls, and Nawada, where he is slated to address a public meeting on Sunday.

The NDA in Bihar also includes Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which is contesting 16 seats, one less than the BJP, and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha, which will fight Katakat.

Chirag Paswan's party is fielding candidates in five seats, including Hajipur, his late father Ram Vilas Paswan's pocket borough, where he is trying his luck this time.