Modi: Phir Ek Baar NDA Sarkar in Bihar

Mr Modi alleged that leaders of the RJD and the Congress, the two largest constituents of the INDIA bloc, are "most corrupt and out on bail". In a bid to drive a wedge in the Opposition alliance, he said despite the fact that the RJD and the Congress have been out of power for decades, they are still arrogant enough to snub alliance partners like JMM and "take for a ride" the Vikassheel Insaan Party, which did not get a favourable share of seats.

In a dig at the RJD at both Samastipur and Begusarai rallies, the Prime Minister asked the crowds to switch on the lights of their mobile phones and said, "When there is so much light all around, there is no need for the lantern (the RJD's poll symbol)."

The Prime Minister first addressed a gathering at Samastipur. At the rally, he said that unlike the INDIA bloc, the NDA is cohesive, pointing towards Mr Kumar, LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan, HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha, who heads Rashtriya Lok Morcha, all of whom were present on the stage.

In his address, the Prime Minister urged women voters, whom he called the worst sufferers of 'jungle raj' in Bihar, to "slam their doors shut on the Congress and the RJD combine". "Remember that leaders of these parties had opposed the women's reservation bill when it was brought in Parliament," he said.

"Nayee raftar se chalega Bihar, phir jab aayegi NDA sarkar (Bihar's growth will speed up once the NDA returns to power). The RJD and the Congress indulged in scams, their leaders are out on bail, and now they are trying to steal the 'Jannayak' title of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur," he said.

Mr Modi pointed out that under the RJD rule, a dozen-and-a-half districts of Bihar were infested with Maoist insurgency and hundreds of people were murdered. “When I came to power in 2014, I pledged to bring Maoism to an end. With utmost humility and satisfaction, I can say that we have broken the spine of Maoism. Soon, the entire country will be free of the Naxal menace. This is Modi's guarantee,” he said.

The Prime Minister pointed out that in the last Assembly polls in Gujarat, where the party has been in power for 30 years, all previous records were broken. Similar was the case in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana. “I am confident that in Bihar, too, under Nitish Kumar, the NDA will break all previous records," he said.

Prior to addressing the rally, the Prime Minister had visited Karpoori Gram, the village named after former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, a backward class stalwart on whom the Bharat Ratna was conferred, posthumously, about a couple of years ago.

Talking about the GST reforms, the Prime Minister said, "The festival of Chhath is approaching and I hope you are also enjoying the celebration of savings with the 'GST Bachat Utsav'."

In Begusarai, Mr Modi raked up the alleged mistreatment meted out to late Sitaram Kesri, "the pride of Bihar and a towering backward leader" from whom the post of the Congress president was snatched away at the instance of the (Nehru-Gandhi) parivaar.

At the rally, Mr Modi reiterated that this time, under the leadership of Mr Kumar, the NDA will break all its previous records of victory, and Bihar will give the NDA its biggest-ever mandate. Also, he repeated his "mahalathbandhan" (grand alliance where partners beat each other with sticks) swipe at the Opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar.

Showering praise on Mr Kumar, who seeks a fifth consecutive term in office, Mr Modi said, "Mr Kumar came to power in 2005, but nearly a decade of his tenure was hampered by a hostile Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, which was constantly blackmailed by the RJD that it would withdraw support if cooperation was extended to the NDA government in Bihar."

"The Central assistance extended to Bihar in the last 11 years is three times what the state had received from the previous government. The state has turned the corner. It is now exporting fish, a far cry from the days when it was dependent on other states for its own needs. Makhana, which is a famous product of Bihar, has access to markets far and wide,” Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister noted that Bihar is now an attractive investment destination and he foresees a future in which every district will be teeming with startups of local youths.

"All this would not have been possible had there been jungle raj in Bihar. Don't you remember that a former Prime Minister had said that of every rupee spent by the government, only 15 paise reached the people. The money used to be devoured by a blood-stained hand (khooni panja)," he said, in reference to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the poll symbol of Congress, the RJD's alliance partner.

Mr Modi asserted that Bihar will keep the jungle raj at bay and vote for good governance.