After losing power, top BJP leaders to visit Bihar this month

Top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are this month scheduled to visit Bihar, where the party lost power in August after chief minister Nitish Kumar ended his alliance with it to form the government with the help of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and the Left parties.

People aware of the matter said Bihar remains a top area of focus for the BJP ahead of the 2024 national elections. Bihar, which sends 40 lawmakers to Parliament, is the only state in the Hindi belt where BJP has been unable to form a government on its own or expand the organisation.

Union home minister Amit Shah will visit Bihar on September 23. His Cabinet colleague Smriti Irani is expected to be there days earlier on September 18 to launch a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Irani’s visit is a separate one. Shah’s visit is part of the BJP’s regular outreach. Programmes in Seemanchal were planned long ago...programmes after that are also planned. Our activities never stop,” said Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal. He dismissed any linkage between Shah’s visit to Muslim-dominated Seemanchal and BJP’s alleged attempts to polarise the state on religious lines.