Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, August 22, 2025, undertook a crucial visit to Bihar where he launched and inaugurated a series of developmental projects worth over ₹13,000 crore, reinforcing the BJP-led NDA’s developmental plank ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year.

The visit, marked by high political energy and sharp attacks on the Opposition, seemed as much a governance-oriented outreach as an electoral rallying point, with Modi using Bihar’s soil to draw attention to broader national issues of security, corruption, infiltration, and constitutional propriety.

The Prime Minister began his day in Gayaji (Gaya), a city known for its religious and cultural significance, where he inaugurated projects worth ₹12,000 crore and flagged off two trains, including an Amrit Bharat Express connecting the pilgrimage hub to Delhi, enhancing Bihar’s connectivity with the national capital.

This was followed by the inauguration of a massive bridge over the river Ganga linking Simaria in Begusarai and Mokama on Patna’s outskirts, a project with a cost exceeding ₹1,000 crore. The Prime Minister, accompanied by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, flew in a helicopter to Begusarai, where he walked on the newly constructed bridge and greeted enthusiastic crowds, showcasing a visible display of political camaraderie and development-driven optics.

In his speeches, particularly at Gayaji, Modi combined developmental messaging with sharp political sallies against the INDIA bloc, led by Congress, RJD, and Left parties. A major focus of his criticism was the Opposition’s resistance to the newly passed Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, as well as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ordered by the Election Commission (EC) in Bihar.

PM Modi forcefully argued that the amendment, which empowers the dismissal of a Chief Minister or even the Prime Minister if convicted and jailed for more than 30 days, was necessary to eradicate corruption from political life. Drawing parallels, he stated that even a low-level clerk faces suspension upon imprisonment, so leaders holding the highest constitutional offices should not be immune.

He alleged that opposition parties opposed the law out of fear of their own corrupt legacies, pointing to the Congress’s history of scams and the RJD’s corruption, which he described as a well-known fact among ordinary people.

Accusing his critics of rampant misuse of power, Modi referred to instances where jailed leaders were effectively running governments from prison cells, signing critical files in violation of constitutional norms. In a veiled attack, he alluded to former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, whose tenure saw controversy over governance from behind bars.

This, he asserted, was a phenomenon his government was determined to end, contrasting his “11-year-old administration without a taint of corruption” against what he described as the misgovernance of previous regimes.

The SIR exercise, initiated first in Bihar, was another key theme of his address. Modi justified the revision of voter rolls as a necessary step to ensure that illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar do not enjoy political rights or access to India’s limited resources. Citing infiltration as a threat to India’s demographic balance, the Prime Minister announced his plan to launch a nationwide Demography Mission aimed at safeguarding the nation’s social and political fabric.

He accused the Congress and the RJD of shielding infiltrators for vote-bank politics, calling it a betrayal of national interest. The opposition, however, has accused the BJP of using SIR to selectively delete voter names in order to tilt the electoral balance in its favour.

In response, INDIA bloc leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav have launched a ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ across Bihar, galvanising grass roots opposition against the EC exercise and accusing the NDA of systematically targeting their support base.

Alongside domestic governance issues, Modi struck a nationalist and security-centred tone, highlighting India’s counterterrorism successes. Referring to Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, the Prime Minister told the crowd that his government had lived up to its promise that no terrorist would escape unpunished after attacking Indian soil.

He asserted that Indian missiles had pursued terrorists into the deepest recesses of the earth (‘Patal Lok’), leaving no safe haven. Modi claimed that Pakistan’s retaliatory missile strikes had been ineffective, boasting that “we blew away their missiles like pieces of straw,” underscoring India’s superior defence preparedness. These statements signalled a tough-on-terror approach that resonates strongly with Bihar’s politically sensitive electorate.

Positioning himself as a popular leader firmly connected to the masses, Modi once again employed local culture and symbolism throughout his visit. Arriving at the Gayaji venue in an open vehicle, he greeted supporters with his trademark ‘roadshow style’ and began his speech in Magahi, a local dialect, referring to Gaya as the “land of Lord Buddha and Lord Vishnu.”

This cultural rootedness was deliberately intended to appeal to Bihar’s religious sensibilities, given Gaya’s prominence as a Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage centre. His optics with Nitish Kumar, a key NDA ally and JD(U) president, included walking hand-in-hand on the new bridge and waving to crowds together, projecting unity and stability within the BJP-JD(U) alliance.

The Prime Minister also revisited past grievances by accusing the Congress of historical insensitivity toward Bihar. Recalling an incident, he charged a former Congress CM of another state with openly declaring that he would not allow Bihari migrants to set foot in his state, while the RJD, then an ally, remained silent.

By reliving such episodes of regional humiliation, Modi sought to cast his government as a defender of Bihar’s honour and dignity, in sharp contrast with a neglectful Opposition.

Modi’s Bihar visit was a carefully choreographed blend of developmental showcase, nationalist security rhetoric, regional cultural appeal, and targeted political attacks. By inaugurating large infrastructure projects, promoting clean politics through stringent anti-corruption laws, and emphasising a hardline stance on both terrorism and infiltration, the Prime Minister set the tone for the NDA’s electoral campaign in Bihar.

His speeches combined emotive cultural references with sharp political contrasts, aimed at both securing Bihar’s mandate and reinforcing his government’s image as uncompromising on issues of corruption, security, and national identity.

With the Assembly polls around the corner, his attacks on the INDIA bloc and his emphasis on programs like SIR and Operation Sindoor suggest that Bihar will be a major battleground for testing both governance credibility and political narratives shaping India’s future trajectory.

Based On PTI Report