PM Narendra Modi Recalls Long Association with Veteran Journalist Love Kumar Mishra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently recalled his long association with veteran journalist Love Kumar Mishra during a brief interaction at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital.

According to people present during the interaction, the Prime Minister met Mishra’s son, Abhinandan Mishra, an editor with an English-language newspaper. During the conversation, Modi is learnt to have fondly referred to the senior journalist as a “close friend” and asked why he had not met him during recent visits to Delhi.

The interaction took place on the sidelines of a programme at Bharat Mandapam, a major convention venue in New Delhi that frequently hosts national and international events, including large government programmes and global summits.

Early Professional Interaction

Love Kumar Mishra began his journalism career in Patna with the English daily Searchlight before joining The Times of India in Ahmedabad in 1980.

During his reporting years in Gujarat, Mishra covered civic issues as well as political developments related to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was then in the opposition. At the time, Modi was associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a full-time pracharak.

According to Mishra, the two met on several occasions during his reporting assignments in Ahmedabad and Rajkot. Their professional acquaintance gradually developed into a cordial relationship that continued over the years.

Meetings During National Political Phase

Mishra recalls that the two also crossed paths in later years when Modi served as a national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party. During that period, they reportedly met at different locations including Srinagar, Bhopal and Raipur in connection with political programmes.

He also remembers meeting Modi at organisational centres such as Deendayal Parishar in Bhopal and Ekatam Parisar in Raipur when the latter was handling party responsibilities across several states.

Another meeting, according to Mishra, took place in Bihar’s Alawalpur village near Patna when Modi visited the family of a victim of the explosions that occurred during a political rally at Gandhi Maidan in 2013.

A Career Spanning Five Decades

Love Kumar Mishra spent nearly five decades in active journalism, reporting on civic issues and politics across several states. After retiring from professional journalism, he now lives in Patna.

The Prime Minister’s remarks during the interaction highlighted the long-standing professional connections that often develop between journalists and political figures over decades of public life.