PM woos women voters, promises education
MADHUBANI/MADHEPURA/KATIHAR: Ahead of the November 5 final phase of polling in Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday singled out women as a class of voters to seek a big mandate for the NDA in Bihar.
At an election rally in Madhepura, Modi said, “Mothers and sisters, give me strength to give you what Nitish Babu promised but could not deliver — 24 hour power supply.”
BJP’s changing focus was also reflected at the Madhubani rally, where Modi cited illiteracy among the EBCs and Dalit women and said a clear mandate for the NDA could set things right in Bihar.
“I have a petition from the women of Karpoori gram. They cannot sign and therefore have thumb-impressed the petition,” Modi said.
The allusion to Karpoori gram, named after Bihar’s former chief minister Karpoori Thakur, an EBC ,was meant to strike a chord with the EBC and Dalit women ahead of the fifth phase of polling.
EBC women constitute the largest chunk of women voters and are expected to play a critical role in this election.
Modi also addressed a rally in eastern Bihar’s Katihar district. In the ‘Muslim hub’, while sending out a ‘message of Hindu-Muslim unity’, ahead of the final round of polling, he recalled the serial bomb blasts at his Patna rally in October 2013 to prove his point.
Attacking the Grand Alliance, he said his promise of development was attracting women to his rallies in such large numbers that the ‘fear-stricken’ Mahagathbandhan leaders were seeking sanctuary in “jantarmantar” (sorcery).