Bihar BJP and RJD are holding their State Executive meetings in the otherwise politically dull State in order to chalk out their respective strategies for 2019 and 2020 lok Sabha and Assembly elections respectively. The BJP had suffered a crushing defeat in 2015 Assembly polls at the hands of three parties’ mahagathbandhan of which RJD is a major partner.
The BJP is in search of new methodology and ground to expand its base and show its strength and popularity which the saffron party showed in neighbouring Jharkhand, UP and other States, which went to poll recently. The RJD, the largest party of the grand alliance, is struggling to maintain its lead and importance after a series of allegations against its chief lalu Prasad, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his party JD(U)’s refusing to defend him.
The meetings of the two parties are being held at the same time. The BJP’s two-day meeting is being held in Kishanganj while RJD’s three-day meeting and training camp was inaugurated on Tuesday by lalu at Rajgir.
The selection of the venues by the two parties has also bewildered the political circles here. BJP has chosen Kishanganj, on Bihar-Nepal borders, which is a Muslim dominated district.
The saffron party has a strong presence there and had won the lok Sabha seat which has about 70 per cent Muslim voters. It is widely expected that the Bihar BJP is trying to woo Muslims after winning UP but there are also apprehensions that the party might chart out its future strategy in the backdrop of socio-religious contour of Bihar.
Similarly, selection of Rajgir by lalu has also surprised political observers since Rajgir, a tourist spot, in Nalanda district, is home to Nitish and loves to spend good time each year at the place dotted with hillocks and world famous Vishwa Shanti Stupa on the top of the Gridh Kuti hillocks.
At the meetings of the two parties it would be interesting to notice what stand they take on the series of allegations hurled by senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on lalu for benami lands and money laundering. While the BJP is yet to take an official stand on Susil Modi’s crusade, the JD(U) has almost made it clear that it was up to lalu to defend and reply to the charges. This stand of Nitish-led JD(U) has come as a setback for the RJD.
Inaugurating the session at the International Convention Centre, lalu reiterated his stand for grand alliance of non-NDA parties on national level. He said he was in talk with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Navin Patnaik of Odisha and other regional parties. “The day all these forces are united it will begin the fall of the BJP and Narendra Modi. After the results of UP it has become highly urgent that anti-BJP forces come together,” said lalu.
His son and Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in his speech accused the BJP of having only one agenda in Bihar that is to attack RJD and lalu.
“The BJP is yet to digest the unity in Bihar and its pro-poor agenda and good governance. We are trying to unite the society and they want to break it. We are working for the benefit of poor farmers and workers and they support rich and capitalist,” he added.