The crowd begins to swell at Gandhi Maidan.
In a few hours,
Narendra Modi will be in Patna to address a rally that the Bihar BJP claims will be the biggest ever in the state. This is Mr Modi's first-ever public rally in Bihar, a state he was kept out of by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar when they were partners.
Over 25,000 people have already gathered at Patna's Gandhi Maidan, waiting to hear Mr Modi, who is expected to arrive at 1 pm. Special traffic arrangements have been made at the two bridges across river Ganga leading to Patna. A NaMo tea stall has been put up at the venue for the attendees.
The Bihar BJP, which has promised an "unprecedented turnout", has pulled all stops to make the Hunkar Rally a grand success. 11 trains and 3000 buses were roped in to ferry people from all parts of the state to the rally, which is expected to be attended by all the 91 BJP legislators in Bihar, who were Mr Modi's staunchest supporters in the days leading up to his being named presumptive PM.
The run-up the to the rally also saw the BJP MP from Patna Sahib, Shatrughan Singh, once a detractor of the Gujarat Chief Minister, joining the Modi bandwagon.
When Mr Modi arrives, the Bihar BJP plans to slip in his hand a wishlist of things he must promise to do if he becomes Prime Minister in 2014, including a special status for the state.
The rally comes just months after an acrimonious break-up with Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) over the issue of Mr Modi's ascent within the BJP, a split that ended a 17-year-old alliance between the two parties in Bihar.
The BJP's star campaigner, who has so far been targeting Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in his rallies, is also expected to attack Mr Kumar in his Gandhi Maidan speech. (
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The acrimony was evident when officials removed several posters and hoardings in Patna on Friday, alleging they were unauthorized and obstructed traffic, though Nitish Kumar has denied using the official machinery to subvert Mr Modi's plans.