Just ahead of the Janata Parivar merger, BJP president Amit Shah had one-on-one meetings with over 50 party leaders in Patna. Shah is understood to have conveyed to them that the party should aggressively take on the Janata Parivar. But, while the BJP tries to “expose” the schism within the new socialist alliance, it would have to keep an eye on the chinks in its own armour.
Just ahead of the Janata Parivar merger, BJP president Amit Shah had one-on-one meetings with over 50 party leaders in Patna. Shah is understood to have conveyed to them that the party should aggressively take on the Janata Parivar. But, while the BJP tries to “expose” the schism within the new socialist alliance, it would have to keep an eye on the chinks in its own armour.
Ever since 1995, when the party got into an alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JD-U, the BJP has not fought elections in several seats in the state. In the last assembly election, the BJP had fielded candidates in 102 of the 243 seats while the JD-U fought the rest. Party sources admitted that the BJP was weak in some belts like Kosi, Madhepura and Samastipur. However, the party is trying to rope in leaders from other parties who have a base in such areas.
The BJP, however, is dismissive of the idea that the Janata Parivar will capture the anti-BJP vote en bloc or that caste equations alone will dictate the Bihar polls. According to a senior party leader, the existence of an “aspirational class” was changing the way of looking at elections. The caste affiliations had been broken in Bihar twice– in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and earlier in 2010 assembly polls when the JD (U)-BJP alliance swept the state.
The party is hoping to bank on the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose image as a chaiwala was highlighted in the run-up to the general elections. It is likely to fight the assembly polls under a collective leadership under Modi, sources said.
Shah, they said, asked the party leaders to project a united face, highlight the pro-poor achievements of the Modi government, the steps taken for Bihar and how the land acquisition bill will help the state.
Going by the Lok Sabha vote shares of parties, the BJP would have reason to worry. JD-U, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and Congress together got 45 per cent vote while the BJP-led NDA won 37 per cent. Their coming together could mean that the major chunk of the Kurmi, Yadav and Muslim votes would go to them. It would also mean denying the BJP the advantage of a split in anti-BJP vote, which had helped the party in Lok Sabha elections. However, a BJP leader claimed that the prospect of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s rule again in the state was itself enough to defeat the alliance. Besides, according to the leader, Nitish Kumar had lost the good governance image.
The BJP is also relying on Jitan Ram Manjhi to wean away the dalit and mahadalit vote from the Janata Parivar. While Manjhi may fight the polls separately, his aim would be to defeat Nitish Kumar, sources said.
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