No more cavalcades, the sky is the way for Bihar election campaigners

Star campaigners of political parties are travelling by helicopters and private jets to address election rallies in Bihar.

Helicopter - election campaign
Helicopters allow election candidates to cover a lot more ground in a short span of time | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Patna: We’ve come a long way since the time politicians would spend pre-election days on the road, travelling from one constituency to the other in cavalcades. Their means of transportation now is much quicker.

Helicopters allow election candidates to cover a lot more ground in a much shorter time, so it’s no surprise that politicians of all stripes now use the aircraft on the campaign trail.

Whether it’s RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav addressing more than a dozen rallies every day or the star campaigners of the BJP, these helicopters allow our seasoned politicians to bounce from one constituency to another.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, LJP’s Chirag Paswan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi all have their own rides, for election campaigning, covering kilometres of ground that just wouldn’t be possible on the road.

There was a time when the sight of a politician’s chopper would make the locals say ‘chidiya mein ja raha hai’. Now, it’s just part of the routine.

Assembly elections in Bihar are scheduled to be held between 28 October and 7 November in three phases.

ThePrint’s National Photo Editor clicks the pictures of the helicopters flying in the Bihar sky during the elections.

Politicians in Bihar are hiring helicopters to reach out to voters | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Helicopters attract large crowds during election campaign in rural areas | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Helicopters allow election candidates to cover a lot more ground in a short span of time | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
The demand for helicopters and private jets soars during campaigning for elections | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

 

Large political parries are likely to hire more aircraft for their campaigns | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Many political leaders use their own private jets for campaigning | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
These helicopters allow seasoned politicians to travel from one constituency to another in a short time | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Campaigning through choppers help campaigners cover multiple constituencies in a day | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Renting a helicopter during an election can reportedly cost between Rs1 lakh and Rs 4 lakh per hour | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

 

The campaign for the three-phase Bihar assembly election has reached its peak | Praveen Jain | ThePrint