Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning shared his happiness with cabinet colleagues at the huge turnout during the Bhagalpur rally in Bihar yesterday. The PM said so enormous were the numbers that the SPG was ready with plans to evacuate him in the event a stampede. The rough  estimate of the crowd was 3.5 lakh, the PM told senior BJP leaders.


The PM said the crowd was so enthusiastic, with cheers of Modi, Modi, Modi, ringing out, that at point he wasn't ready to leave even though there was a security risk with people approaching the dais.


On a more serious note, the PM said he was concerned about a stampede when he saw many people in the crowd climbing the bamboo posts of the pandal. If the pandal collapsed there would have been deaths, Modi feared. Thankfully, there was no untoward incidents.