RANCHI: Kick starting the election campaign for the upcomming Assembly polls in Jharkhand, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address more than 25000 BJP workers during a day-long extended state working committee meeting in Ranchi on Saturday.
According to BJP functionaries, Amit Shah’s visit will prove to be morale booster for the party workers. Shah will arrive at Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi on a BSF plane and will proceed to the meeting venue at Prabhat Tara Maidaan in Dhurwa. He will also be meeting senior BJP leaders, party officials, MPs and MLAs at the party's headquarters in Ranchi on the same day.
This visit is considered to be significant as it marks Shah’s first visit to Jharkhand after the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls and release of Chief Minister Hemant Soren from jail after five months.
According to BJP functionaries, the Union Home Minister’s visit will not only boost the morale of the BJP workers who have been feeling disheartened after losing all five tribal seats in Jharkhand but also create positive vibes among them to win all Assembly seats in the state.
“This visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah is considered to be very crucial as he will address more than 20, 000 party workers, coming right from the mandal level, and blow the poll bugle for the upcoming Assembly polls in Jharkhand,” said State BJP Spokesperson Pradeep Sinha.
He will also get feedback of the recently held Lok Sabha poll results in Jharkhand, besides giving party workers the mantra to regain the lost grounds in the state, he added.
Another BJP leader said that the visit of Amit Shah will help transmitting a new source of energy among the party workers who are a bit disappointed with the loss of five tribal seats in Jharkhand during the recent Lok Sabha polls. The former BJP national president is also expected to hold discussions with key state leaders to strengthen the party's organizational structure, he said.
“Certainly, Amit Shah's address will work to instill enthusiasm among BJP workers which will further help the party win all 81 Assembly seats in Jharkhand,” said the BJP leader.
Notably, the BJP lost the assembly elections in 2019, with its tally shrinking from 37 to 25 in the 81-member assembly. The JMM, led by Soren, formed the government after winning 30 seats and getting support from the Congress won 16 seats and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) that won a single seat.
In this year’s Lok Sabha elections, the party’s tally came down from 11 in 2019 to eight. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) won three, Congress two and the AJSU won a single seat.
The 2019 defeat was to a large extent attributed to the absence of a tribal face as then chief minister Raghubar Das was not seen as a pan-state leader. With the appointment of tribal leader Babulal Marandi as state BJP chief, the party is hopeful of overcoming the allegation that it does not have a tribal representative at the high table.
