Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has appealed to the people of Bihar to vote for the Congress for the state's overall development. Addressing an election rally at Narpatganj in Araria district, he said for the last 20 years, the voters in Bihar had elected non-Congress Governments and they had done very little to improve thesocio-economic conditions of the people.He said the Congress was the only party which is committed to the welfare of aam admi and the weaker sections of society. Dr. Singh said Congress-led Government at the Centre had also taken several steps to improve the lot of minorities, farmers and the downtrodden sections.He said voters should also take into account the fact that Bihar still remained backward while other states have made considerable progress. Dwelling on the issue of unemployment the Prime Minister said if The Congress was voted to power, it would take major steps to solve the problem.Meanwhile, campaigning is picking up in the state for the first phase of polls scheduled to be held on Thursday. Political parties are now drafting star campaigners in a last ditch effort to woo the voters. Fourty seven seats will go to poll on 21st of this month in a six-phased election in Bihar.