As BJP chief Amit Shah sets his eyes on Bihar, the party has prepared a road map that revolves around prime minister Narendra Modi, membership drive and booth management.
As BJP chief Amit Shah sets his eyes on Bihar, the party has prepared a road map that revolves around prime minister Narendra Modi, membership drive and booth management.
Like in other states where elections have been held recently, the BJP is unlikely to project a chief ministerial face and will fight the state elections relying on Modi and his government's track record, party sources said.
"We have to win Bihar," Shah had told top leaders of the state at a meeting here on Sunday, sources said. The party discussed strategy for its "mission 185" in a state with a 243-strong assembly as it mulled over the political impact of a merger of Opposition parties–JD-U and RJD.
The BJP is counting on traction for Modi, cutting across caste affiliations, as seen during the Lok Sabha elections when the party won 31 of the 40 seats in the state. However, at that time the JD-U and RJD had fought separately vying for the same anti-BJP vote.
The party's confidence also stems from the results of the recent Jharkhand elections, in which the JD-U and RJD were diminished from border areas of the state where the two parties were influential, sources said.
Hoping to translate the membership numbers into support for the party, the BJP has set an ambitious target of 75 lakh for its drive, which ends on March 31. Though the BJP has so far managed to enrol only eight-nine lakh in the state, sources said the party has begun an aggressive campaign to achieve its goal. Shah, who will be in the state on January 23-24 on his first visit since he took over as party chief, is expected to meet booth level workers.
The party has been asked to ensure that it makes members in each of the state's 66,000 booths ahead of the elections due later this year. Shah will be in Patna for the celebrations organised by the party on the birth anniversary of socialist Karpoori Thakur. Later, on April 14, the BJP is planning to hold a rally at Patna's Gandhi Maidan, which could be addressed by prime minister Narendra Modi though the plans are yet to be finalised, sources said.
The BJP will fight elections in alliance with its NDA partners in the state–Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.
"The party is gearing up for a positive agenda focusing on government's track record under Modi's leadership. The BJP would aim at exposing the contradictions within JD-U, differences between Nitish Kumar and chief minister Jiten Manjhi and inherent conflicts between the JD-U and RJD," said state party spokesperson Devesh Kumar. He said the party would also highlight achievements of the Bihar government during the time when there was an alliance between the JD-U and BJP.
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