Deeply involved in the strengthening and restructuring of JD(U), former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday opened a two-day training camp for the party cadre and told them to preach the party’s vision and mission among the masses and remove the misunderstandings spread by the rivals. Addressing the party office-bearers, district presidents, members of advisory panels and heads of different cells at his official residence, Nitish told them that the process of the merger of the parties was going on and added, “The merger may take some time but we have already emerged (victorious) in the Assembly by-elections. The formal merger will take place and there is no need for any hurry or worry.”
The two-day training camp which is followed by series of separate meetings of office-bearers and functionaries besides legislators Nitish held earlier apart from his Sampark Yatra of each district to meet the party cadre. The camp is seen as Nitish’s efforts to further tighten his grips on the party which is currently going through factionalism and infighting.
His directive to the party cadre was to sharpen their attack on the chief rival BJP. “Whatever promises we made, we fulfilled by improving law and order situation, infrastructure development and power scenario. In 2010 Assembly election I promised to improve the power situation else I would not seek votes in 2015 and today not only urban but rural areas are getting 20 to 22 hours of power supply,” Nitish said and released a video tape of his speeches in which he made the promises asking the party workers to educate the voters about it and forcefully contradict the canards spread by the BJP.
He said the vision of the JD(U) is samata (equality) and mission is sampannata (self reliance) and the party would make all efforts to achieve these goals. Asking the cadre to fan out in the countryside and reach out to masses and explain to them JD(U) policies and programmes and its vision and mission. “Our mission is to win the confidence of the common people on the basis of our works,” he said.
Bihar JD(U) president Bashistha Narain Singh said the party’s philosophy and policies are based on the teachings of Gandhi, lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan and asked the party workers to keep the party’s principles and policies above all considerations and win the confidence of the people. The partymen were told that in 2014 lok Sabha election the people did not reject the party but voted according to the political situation that prevailed across the country due to various factors including public apathy towards Congress-led UPA Government and its failure to check corruption.
The JD(U), which faired badly in that election, could win only two seats as against its tally of 22 in the previous lok Sabha. The party ranks and file were quite disappointed and frustrated. Nitish has taken up cudgels to bring them out of this morass and after resigning from chief ministership in May last with a pledge to recharge and revamp the demoralised party and its cadre.