Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted on Tuesday that the BJP alliance was "far ahead" of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar and will win the assembly election with a thumping majority. Fadnavis, who visited the Chhinnamastika Devi temple in Ramgarh, about 70 km from Ranchi, refused to elaborate and only added that he was on a spiritual visit.
He reached Ranchi in a plane from Bihar after completing a day-long visit to the state and then travelled to Ramgarh by road to offer prayers at the temple. But the temple was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the senior BJP leader had to offer prayers from outside the temple gate, said the priest Subashish Panda.
Fadnavis also visited the saint ‘Boriya Baba’ at his ashram near the confluence of the holy Damodar and Bhairavi rivers. He spent one and half hours there, said another priest, Jayant Panda, who accompanied him during the visit to the ashram.
Sandeep Singh, the deputy commissioner of Ramgarh, told PTI that Fadnavis left Jharkhand within 72 hours of his arrival and as per the COVID-19 protocol if someone leaves the state within 72 hours, he could skip the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The assembly election in Bihar is scheduled in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7. The counting of votes will take place on November 10. PTI Corr
