BJP's 'Bahari' conundrum: Party lost in most places in Bihar where Modi addressed rallies

Patna: BJP candidates were defeated in most of the assembly seats in Bihar where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed election rallies. But the Congress won all the four seats where its president Sonia Gandhi addressed rallies. It also won a majority of the seats where its vice president Rahul Gandhi spoke at election meetings. Modi was the star campaigner of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections which it lost badly to the Grand Alliance. [caption id=“attachment_2502702” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo. Image courtesy: PTI[/caption] Modi addressed 26 rallies in as many constituencies between October 2 (Banka) and November 2 (Darbhanga). It was the first time any prime minister had spoken at so many election rallies in an assembly election. Modi also addressed four rallies in the state in July and August even before the announcement of the assembly polls. Of the 26 constituencies where Modi spoke, the BJP won in only 10 seats. It was defeated in the other 16 seats, a BJP leader said. The 16 places where the BJP lost included Nawada, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Begusarai, Munger, Samastipur, Naubatpur, Buxar, Bettiah, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Madhepura and Farbisganj. “Modi’s rallies were attended by a large number of people but it was not converted into votes,” the BJP leader said. BJP president Amit Shah also addressed 63 election rallies and camped for over a month in Bihar. Sonia Gandhi addressed rallies at Kahalgaon, Vajirganj, Buxar and Manjhi. Rahul Gandhi addressed 12 rallies – it won from eight of these places including Bachwada, Barbigha, Riga, Benipatti, Kishanganj, Amaur, Araria and Kodha. IANS