On Sunday, in the run-up to the Assembly polls in Bihar, three petroleum sector projects were inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi. He also gave a big thumbs up to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and reached out to voters by calling the state a “powerhouse of talent”.

Banka was one of the beneficiaries of an LPG bottling plant while another such unit is located at Harsiddhi in East Champaran district.

“I had the opportunity of flagging off the work on extension of the gas pipeline a year-and-half ago. I am delighted to see its completion. The country and Bihar have come out of an era when a project was announced and a generation had to wait for its completion. Nitish ji has played an important role in ushering in this change in the state,” Modi said.
”There was a time when road, rail and internet connectivity wasn’t a priority and Gas-based industries were a big challenge in Bihar. Due to the technical help and the co-operation extended by the state government, the project was completed in time. I also got the opportunity to inaugurate the Durgapur-Banka pipeline section,” added Modi.

Once an arch-rival of PM Modi, Mr Kumar had ended the alliance with the BJP in 2013 when the then Chief Minister of Gujarat was named the Prime Ministerial candidate of the NDA. But the five-time Chief Minister, who is seeking re-election, returned to the BJP fold in July 2017 after ending the Grand Alliance with the Congress and Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal.