Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is beginning a two-day visit to Bihar on Friday in order to challenge the Mahagathbandhan administration in the state. His goal is to help the party become a powerful force before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Bihar division of the BJP has created a new slogan inviting people to support the party for the advancement of the state in order to give the party more momentum. “Aao chale Bhajpa ke sath, Kare Bihar ka Vikash” (let’s support BJP for the development of Bihar) is the party’s new catchphrase.
Shah’s first visit to the state comes after Nitish Kumar, the state’s chief minister, broke with the BJP and formed a grand coalition government with the RJD, Congress, and other parties.
Amit Shah will deliver a speech to the “Jan Bhavna Mahasabha” in the Seemanchal area for the first time in Bihar. Districts in the Seemanchal region include Katihar, Araria, and Kishanganj.
Shah’s travel to Bihar is in line with the BJP’s plan to win the most seats possible in the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
Amit Shah will give a speech to the “Jan Bhavna Mahasabha” at the Rangbhoomi Ground in Purnia on Friday at around noon. The BJP is in high gear prior to Shah’s travel to the Seemanchal (bordering) districts of Bihar Purnia and Kishanganj districts.
The Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal have already criticised the BJP for preparing a “Jan Bhavna Mahasabha” in the Seemanchal area.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, the leader of the RJD, and Tejashwi Yadav, the deputy chief minister of Bihar, all assert that the BJP picked the Seemanchal region so that Amit Shah could incite religious conflict.
Tejashwi Yadav spoke to the media in Patna and stated, “If Amit Shah comes, then I want to know if the centre will grant Bihar special status or not. What inspired him to come here, exactly? He’ll criticise Muslims and rouse Hindus in his speeches. He will announce Jungle Raj’s arrival when he arrives.”
In response to Yadav, BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal stated that former Finance Commission chairman and Rajya Sabha member NK Singh of the JD(U) has stated that special status is not feasible at this time.
Jaiswal expressed confidence in the BJP’s ability to establish the state’s government in 2025, saying, “For decades, no BJP politician has held the office of Chief Minister of Bihar, but in 2025, the party will take power and there will be a Chief Minister of BJP in Bihar.”
Around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, Shah will meet with Bihar BJP MPs, MLAs, and former ministers at Kishanganj’s Mata Gujri University.
Around 5 o’clock at Mata Gujri University, the Minister will preside over a meeting of the State Core Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Minister would pray at the Budhi Kali Mata Temple on Day 2 of his tour to the state at around 9.30 am Subhashpally Chowk in Kishanganj.
Around 10.30 am, the Home Minister will visit Border outpost Fatehpur and officially open the BOP buildings for Fatehpur, Pekatola, Beria, Amgachi, and Raniganj.
At 12 p.m. on the BSF Campus in Kishanganj, the Minister will review the border security meeting with the directors general and top officers of the Border Security Force (BSF), SSB, and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
At 3.30 p.m. at Mata Gujri University, the Home Minister will attend the “Sundar Subhumi” programme held in honour of the ongoing “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations.
For the party hoping to make a huge impact at the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shah will sound the electoral horn across the state.
Union Minister and party’s firebrand MP from Begusarai, Giriraj Singh has been made in charge of the rally to be attended by Shah in the Seemanchal (bordering) districts of Bihar’s Purnia and Kishanganj districts.
To prepare for Shah’s rally, several State BJP leaders have been camping in the bordering Purnia and Kishanganj districts for several days and meeting with local people and leaders to make the rallies successful.
The Seemanchal area of north Bihar consists of four districts — Purnia, Kishanganj, Katihar and Araria — where the Muslim population is in sizeable number to influence the success of a political party’s candidate in both Assembly and General elections. The four districts share their border with West Bengal and Bangladesh, from where a large number of immigrants have infiltrated and settled to change the demography there, BJP leaders claimed.
The four districts represent 24 Assembly seats and four Parliamentary seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, BJP won just one seat of Araria, while JD(U) had victories in two seats of Purnia and Katihar and the Kishanganj seat went to the Congress party. In 2019, both BJP and JD(U) fought elections together as allies.
However, political experts said that the political trend of the Seemanchal area “influences the electoral course of other adjoining districts like Supaul, Bhagalpur, Madhubani and Darbhanga as well”.
There are 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar out of which 17 are presently held by the BJP while JD(U) has 16 seats. Further, Lok Janshakti Party has six seats and Congress has one seat.