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Business News/ Opinion / Blogs/  Helipad, banners and Narendra Modi in Patna
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Helipad, banners and Narendra Modi in Patna

Patna is flooded with Narendra Modi's banners and posters, something that will not please local non-BJP leaders

Commercial hoardings at Patna airport are overshadowed by Narendra Modi’s posters. Photo: MintPremium
Commercial hoardings at Patna airport are overshadowed by Narendra Modi’s posters. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in Patna is tiny and does not attract as much traffic. My colleague who writes on aviation says that not many flights are allowed to land here, perhaps due to its short air strip that is considered unsafe for landing. But a swanky helipad right next to it is humming with life.

“Har Roz koi na koi aata hai. Hamaari duty badalti rehti hai (Everyday somebody or the other comes here. Our duty changes every day," said one of at least 20 Bihar police officials standing at the entrance of the VIP helipad.

“It’s a cushy job. The rush is only during the mornings and evenings," said another referring to politicians departing and arriving for public rallies. Both declined to be named.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans a mega rally for its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Wednesday in Nawada and Buxar, each around 100km away from the state capital. Modi pulls in a lot of crowd. Ajay Kumar, my driver, is also excited. “This time it is Modi wave. Nitish (chief minister Nitish Kumar) does not stand a chance," he said.

Patna is flooded with Modi’s banner and posters. Even commercial hoardings at Patna airport are overshadowed by his posters—something that will not please local non-BJP leaders.

One such banner is just outside the airport, right in front of the road that leads to the helipad.

The airport entrance often becomes an exit for travellers who land at the swanky helipad. A right turn from the entrance takes you towards Anne Marg and Circular Road. These roads crisscross each other and boast of homes to bigwigs of Bihar politics. Nitish Kumar’s 1, Anne Marg is diagonally opposite to Rabri Devi’s 10, Circular Road, where she lives with her husband Lalu Prasad and children.

It is 6pm. Lalu Prasad, ex-chief minister and the RJD chief, has just left the airport in his white Toyota Fortuner.

I was about to leave for Rabri Devi’s residence, where I was to meet Lalu Prasad for an interview.

As I pulled out of the airport premises, I noticed across the road a young man climbing up a ladder to bring down a banner right outside the airport. It read, Abki Baar, Modi Sarkar, and had Modi’s photo on it.

I stopped to ask the man why he was doing that. He said, “Sahab idhar se hi jaayenge. Unko accha nahi lagega sir. (Sir will take this route and he may not like this banner)."

After Prasad, it was Kumar’s turn to come out of the airport and take the road that leads to 1, Anne Marg.

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Published: 02 Apr 2014, 12:57 PM IST
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