File picture of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at the Sasaram rally.
Bihar:
In Sasaram, represented in the Lok Sabha by Speaker Meira Kumar, Narendra Modi used the perceived lack of development in the area as the bait to woo the voters.
"You've sent such a big leader to the Lok Sabha. I was thinking there will be lots of development. But it seems there is nothing here. I even asked my pilot to check if we were going to the wrong place,'' the BJP's prime ministerial candidate said, taking a jibe at the Congress candidate.
After addressing a rally at Gumla in Jharkhand, Mr Modi flew to Sasaram, located a 100 kms away from Varanasi, one of the two constituencies from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
Ms Kumar has been representing Sasaram in Parliament since 2004. Her father, former deputy prime minister Jagjiwan Ram had an uninterrupted run from the constituency till his death in 1986.
Development, or the lack of it, is the biggest poll issue in this reserved constituency. A dam being constructed in the area has been in the making for the last 30 years now.
Campaigning in the interiors, barely 20 kms away from where Mr Modi addressed his rally, Mrs Kumar, however, refused to retaliate. "I know there are lots of problems. Irrigation is a big problem. We are trying to ensure that farmers get their share of water. The dam is in the last stage,'' she said in one of her public meetings.
But an RTI filed by a social activist revealed that in the last five years, Ms Kumar spent 176 days abroad and only 58 days in her constituency. "My relationship with these people is very deep, goes back many years, and it is very difficult for some people to understand,'' she told NDTV.
"You've sent such a big leader to the Lok Sabha. I was thinking there will be lots of development. But it seems there is nothing here. I even asked my pilot to check if we were going to the wrong place,'' the BJP's prime ministerial candidate said, taking a jibe at the Congress candidate.
After addressing a rally at Gumla in Jharkhand, Mr Modi flew to Sasaram, located a 100 kms away from Varanasi, one of the two constituencies from where he is contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
Ms Kumar has been representing Sasaram in Parliament since 2004. Her father, former deputy prime minister Jagjiwan Ram had an uninterrupted run from the constituency till his death in 1986.
Development, or the lack of it, is the biggest poll issue in this reserved constituency. A dam being constructed in the area has been in the making for the last 30 years now.
Campaigning in the interiors, barely 20 kms away from where Mr Modi addressed his rally, Mrs Kumar, however, refused to retaliate. "I know there are lots of problems. Irrigation is a big problem. We are trying to ensure that farmers get their share of water. The dam is in the last stage,'' she said in one of her public meetings.
But an RTI filed by a social activist revealed that in the last five years, Ms Kumar spent 176 days abroad and only 58 days in her constituency. "My relationship with these people is very deep, goes back many years, and it is very difficult for some people to understand,'' she told NDTV.
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