BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi consoles family members of Raj Narain Singh, a victim of the recent serial bomb blasts in Patna
Six days after the serial blasts at BJP's prime ministerial candidate
Narendra Modi's rally in Patna that left six people dead and over 80 others injured, intense politicking over the blast victims has begun.
As Mr Modi met the families of the blasts victims by going to their villages in a helicopter today - a move described by his party as a highly emotional moment that brought forth the affection of the villagers towards the Gujarat chief minister, his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) slammed Mr Modi by saying he is indulging in political tactics ahead of the 2014 elections.
"Narendra Modi came to a village in Patna. He went to Raj Narain Singh's home. He died during the blasts... We did not call anyone but 5000 people from came around the place. This shows the affection of the people towards him... Those against him have to come and see how it is here. This very emotional," said BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.
JD(U) spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari countered, "This is not a 100 meter race. Narendra Modi must understand this. This is a semi-marathon if not a marathon. There are still five months left and if he continues to remain in such a hurry then I feel he might fall and get hurt."
Mr Modi, who arrived in Patna last night, started his tour of six different districts of Bihar this morning to meet the families of the six people who died in the blasts last Sunday.
After a delay of two hours due to fog, Mr Modi first visited Gaurichak where he met the family of Raj Narain Singh, one of the victims.
He next went to Kaimur, where he met the family of Vikas Singh. But as the chopper carrying Mr Modi took off for Gopalganj, dense fog forced the pilot to return to Patna.
"In Kaimur, met the wife and children of Shaheed Vikas Singh and offered my deepest condolences to the family," Mr Modi tweeted.
After re-fuelling, the chopper left for the remaining districts. The Gujarat chief minister, along with senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, is handing over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to each of the families.
"I came to share the pain of the kin of the blast victims," he said after returning to Patna.