The Opposition’s campaign against the SIR in Bihar and the NDA’s response to the abuse aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother came up in a meeting of state BJP leaders with the party’s senior members, including Home Minister Amit Shah, on Wednesday. They discussed plans for the Assembly polls.
Sources said the strategy session focused on reviewing the political situation and planning campaign programs.
Bihar BJP president Dilip Kumar Jaiswal stated that discussions did not cover the seat-sharing arrangement with allies, as that decision rests with the central leadership.
He mentioned that the election campaign committee would be announced soon and measures would be taken for candidate selection.
It was agreed to hold joint meetings of Bihar NDA workers in every assembly constituency by September 25.
BJP president JP Nadda and key state leaders, including Jaiswal, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Nityanand Rai, as well as national general secretary Vinod Tawde and co-incharge Deepak Prakash, participated in the discussions.
Sources indicated that 11 of the 12 core group leaders from the party’s Bihar unit attended the meeting. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who is also the state’s finance minister, missed it due to the GST Council meeting.
Several party leaders believe the campaign led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls is unlikely to gain significant support outside the opposition’s base. The Election Commission’s effort has not harmed the larger population.
One leader remarked that the opposition’s campaign might backfire, as it has distracted from local issues related to governance and leadership. He noted that the abuse directed at Modi’s mother during the opposition’s “Voter Adhikar Yatra” and the lack of condemnation from INDIA bloc leaders have allowed the ruling alliance to intensify its attack on rivals.
The ruling NDA has called for a state-wide bandh on Thursday as part of its effort to escalate its counter-offensive against opponents following Modi’s strong criticism of the RJD-Congress-Left alliance regarding this issue.
Modi is expected to visit the state a few times in the coming weeks. The ongoing meetings of NDA leaders across the state, along with the BJP’s “Sewa Pakhwada,” will take place from Modi’s birthday on September 17 to October 2.
