Patna,(BiharTimes): Though it was an official function Narendra Modi’s tone and tenor at Hajipur on Saturday was significantly different from the previous official function organized at Veterinary College ground in Patna on July 25 and a number of election rallies he had addressed later in 2015.

Perhaps the humiliating defeat his party, the BJP, suffered in Bihar Assembly election last year had prompted him to soften his aggressiveness. Nothing was more noticeable than Modi’s fulsome praise of Bihar chief minister in the field of electrification. He went on to say that he hopes Bihar would be the first state in the country to electrify all its villages.

This was in total contrast to speeches delivered during the election campaign last year. In almost all his 30-odd speeches he would ask the crowd “Bijlee Aiyee” (Has electricity reached your hom?) He continued to ask this question even though the power situation had improved in the state. Nobody in his party gave him proper feedback.

It is only on March 12 that realization dawned upon him. But that was too late. Though he took a dig at the 10 years of the UPA rule––in which RJD chief Lalu Prasad and LJP president, Ram Vilas Paswan (who was also on the dais) were ministers between 2004 and 2009––the prime minister was cooperative towards the Nitish government.

However, it is other thing that he made no mention of  Rs 1.25 lakh crore package be ammounced during the Assembly election campaign. However, he went a bit overboard in claiming credit for the two
rail-cum-road bridges when the fact is that the Vajpayee government and even UPA-I, when Lalu was the railway minister did a lot in this direction. It was only when Mamata Banerjee was the railway minister
between 2009 and 2011 that the work had suffered. It was Lalu who converted the Digha-Sonepur rail bridge into rail-cum-road bridge.

So if it took 14 years for rail-cum-road bridges to come up it is not too much by the prevailing standard in the country. Mahatma Gandhi Setu, which was just a road bridge, also took as many number of years.
The audience was not bothered about how much time the two bridges took. They were happy that they have at least got two gifts. In fact what was more important was the foundation laying of another rail-cum-road bridge in Mokama as Rajendra Bridge has become old.

On his part Nitish too appeared friendly and did not forcefully raise the issue of special status category and special package promised by the PM last year.

He said he was ‘personally satisfied’ as the foundation of the two bridges were laid when he was the railway minister. Instead of teasing the prime minister for forgetting Bihar––as he said when Modi visited
the state for the first time 14 months after becoming the PM––he asked the latter to keep coming. Observers are a bit confused about the political achievement of this trip as Modi and his party can not live without it. But by saying nothing against the Nitish government––instead praising it and patting deputy CM Tejaswi Prasad Yadav––the prime minister has left the state BJP leadership in a fix. For a moment it has become difficult for them to go on offensive against the Grand Alliance government.