The hidden agenda could be to infuse a new hope in the party's cadre in Bihar that felt dejected after the party's defeat at the hands of the grand alliance
The proposed visit of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Bihar, the first since he assumed office — where he will address public meetings at Darbhangha and Patna to highlight the Modi government's achievement in the past three years — has much more to do than merely propagating the 'Modi fest' and the 'making of the Developed India'.
The party has organised the visit of the neighbouring state Chief Minister much ahead of Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Yadav's 'maha rally' on August 27, which will showcase grand unity of non-BJP parties at the national level. Lalu has taken the lead to check the growing influence of the BJP after the latter's electoral sweep in UP and the senior leaders in the Opposition camp are of the opinion that only a unified Opposition will be able to check the BJP, like in post-Emergency scenario when the combined Opposition, in the form of Janata Party, brought the Indira Gandhi government down.
Adityanath's two-day visit to Bihar from June 15 will be his first as UP CM. It would also be the first time that the BJP is using the immense popularity of the saffron robe-clad CM outside his own state. BJP President Amit Shah is trying to project the CM of the country's largest state as its Hindu mascot. The hidden agenda could be to infuse a new hope in the party's cadre in Bihar that felt dejected after the party's defeat at the hands of the grand alliance. The BJP has chosen an opportune time after the visible fissures in Nitish-Lalu camp.
The Nitish-Lalu combo with the added support of the Congress in the 2015 October-November election found the BJP on the wrong foot. But the thumping victory of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh has given the party a new vigour and strength. The party has strategically decided to pitch Yogi in Bihar to counter the Lalu-Nitish alliance and arouse the feelings of Hindutva among the Hindu youth of Bihar by activating the Hindu Yuva Vahini in Bihar. The Uttar Pradesh election proved that it was a complete polarisation of the Hindu votes in favour of the BJP and the casteist equations in Bihar match that of Uttar Pradesh. The BJP would never miss an opportunity to propagate its Hindu card and there could not be a better person to become the flag-bearer of this programme than Adityanath. The Nitish-Lalu combo fully exploited the minority sentiments and also the votes of the Yadav and other OBCs. This consolidation on casteist lines deprived the BJP its chance to form the government in Bihar which has 54 Lok Sabha seats. Left with limited options, it would be the endeavour of the BJP to consolidate its Hindu base through popular Hindu mantras.
The idea of the Modi-Amit Shah political aspirations is to project Adityanath's strong Hindu connect and make him a popular CM outside Uttar Pradesh also. Modi himself along with Lalu in the past have been Chief Ministers with a pan India appeal and the BJP has aptly chosen Adityanath to propagate its Hindutva face. Adityanath, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti among other prominent leaders and MPs would be addressing the rallies with focus on the issues of development and farmers' plight.
The waiving of the farmer's loans worth Rs 36,359 crore, which is one of the biggest bonanza ever offered to the farmers of the country, has won Adityanath big admiration and he is being hailed as the messiah of the farming community so much so that farmers from southern states have started demanding a UP-like formula of loan waiver. His visit is likely to unite the farmers in Bihar who are equally suffering as they are not getting the prices of their farm produce. Adityanath's rallies in Bihar could lead to an agrarian movement like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and put the government under pressure.
Adityanath's crackdown on illegal slaughter houses and meat shops in Uttar Pradesh and the ban on cow smuggling and the zero tolerance policy towards those involved in such trade has all the ingredients of catching people's attentions.
Surely, Adityanath is being projected as a powerful leader with a strong Hindu cult that would soon make him the country's most popular Chief Minister.
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