PATNA: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Bihar’s Nalanda district, the native place of his bete noire and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, to participate in a meeting of booth-level functionaries of the party in December.
This will be Shah’s fourth visit to the state in four months, including the recent one to Saran district to participate in the 120th birth anniversary of socialist icon Jayaprakash Narayan. In September, Shah had visited Purnia and Kishanganj districts.
Sharing information about Shah’s proposed visit, state BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal said that modalities are being finalised by the top leadership “BJP is holding meetings with booth presidents in every district. Such a meeting is proposed to be held in Nalanda district in December. Amit Shah is among the prominent leaders to address workers on the occasion,” he told the media.
Shah’s proposed visit is being viewed as a significant step towards the BJP’s ‘Mission Bihar’ in the wake of the 2024 general elections. Shah’s frequent visits to Bihar have, however, left leaders of the grand alliance led by RJD, JD(U), Congress and Left parties unfazed. Shah, who had remained out of political campaign during 2020 Assembly polls in Bihar, first visited the state Bihar this year on July 31 to participate in the all-India convention of frontal organisations of the BJP in Patna.
Shah’s next visit was to Purnea and Kishanganj on September 23. Both the districts have sizeable Muslim population. It was said that his visit to the Seemanchal region was part of BJP larger game plan to strengthen its base there. On October 11, Shah visited, Jayaprakash Narayan’s birthplace, Sitab Diara, where he unveiled a statue of JP, and made a veiled attack on Nitish and Lalu Prasad, two of JP’s disciples.