For BJP's Amit Shah, a 'War Room' in Patna is Home for the Next Week

BJP President Amit Shah at an election rally in Bihar.

New Delhi:  The BJP will today release what it calls its vision document for the Bihar assembly elections, to be held in five phases from this month. Party chief Amit Shah, who is on a week-long tour of the state, will release the document along with finance minister Arun Jaitley.


 


Sources say that apart from a focus on farmers and rural households, the document will make an effort to reach out to the state’s women, seen as a strong support base of BJP rival Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.


 
With chief strategist Amit Shah in town, a five-star hotel in Patna is functioning as the BJP’s “war-room.” Mr Shah has held long meetings with state party leaders to fine-tune the election strategy of the four-party coalition the BJP is leading.


 


Mr Shah is also travelling to other parts of the state to meet party workers and check any signs of rebellion in constituencies where there is discontentment about over the party’s choice of candidate.


 


Senior leaders, said sources, will visit the homes of disgruntled leaders to placate them and ensure they do not spoil the BJP’s chances in an election it must win.


 


The BJP is contesting 160 of Bihar’s 243 seats and the other 83 have been divided among three regional allies. The party thus has little room to take chances and has in several places strategically fielded candidates who have just joined the party after quitting the rival Janata Dal United or Rashtriya Janata Dal.


 


This has caused heartburn among leaders who have been working for years towards the party’s big moment in Bihar, out from the shadow of the JDU to which the BJP played junior partner for 18 years, till they parted in 2013.


 


The grumbling includes allegations of ticket being given to people with a criminal background and about the relatives of local leaders being denied nomination.


 


Amit Shah has instructed party workers that they must ensure all election rallies held by senior leaders are a huge success, and not just a select few.


 


Also, every worker has been instructed to bring 100 new voters to the polling booths.