Amit Shah in Patna today, urges unity

BJP president Amit Shah has reminded the party’s Bihar unit that for the saffron party to win Assembly elections in the state, it should be seen standing “united” and factionalism within the state unit needs to be checked.

In his first visit to the state after becoming the saffron party’s chief on January 23, Mr Shah would be meeting booth-level workers and would participate in former chief minister Karpoori Thakur’s birth anniversary the next day. The BJP is also planning to hold a massive rally in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on April 14, which is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP is unlikely to project any chief ministerial candidate and Mr Modi will be the face of the election campaign in the state where former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is seen as the frontrunner for the post. However, a section within the BJP’s state unit is against his name to be considered for the top post.

The BJP’s campaign strategy will also be formulated keeping in mind the possible merger of the JD(U) and the RJD, which would force the BJP to focus primarily on caste adjustment while selecting its candidates. In the last Assembly elections, the BJP had won 91 seats while its former ally JD(U) had won 115 and the RJD had bagged 22 seats.

While the BJP has given a call for “Mission 185 plus” for the Assembly election for 243 seats, which are likely to be held in the second half of this year, Mr Shah has made it clear that this goal could be achieved if the party is seen standing united.

Mr Shah, who held a meeting with senior leaders from the state on Sunday, has asked them that focus should be on strengthening the organisation till the booth level.

During the state’s core group meeting with Mr Shah, it was also decided the party would contest the elections along with allies LJP and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.