Union home minister Amit Shah could be on two back-to-back visits to Bihar next month. His visits show how much importance and worry the BJP is according to the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Shah will visit Patna on February 22 to participate in a conclave of farmers and labourers on the birth anniversary of freedom fighter and All India Kisan Mahasabha founder Swami Sahajanand Saraswati.

“Union home minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest at the conclave of farmers and labourers. He will hold a direct dialogue with them and their issues after paying tributes to Swami Sahajanand,” BJP Rajya Sabha member Vivek Thakur said.

Thakur is instrumental in organising Swami Sahajanand’s birth anniversary celebrations. He stressed that the Bihar government has neglected the freedom fighter and farmers’ leader so far, which could be gauged by the fact that neither any state function is organised in his name, nor he figures in the diaries and calendars printed by the government.

However, Shah’s visit in February will not be the only one in the offing.

The BJP leaders are exploring the possibility of one more visit of Shah as part of a mega event in which top party leaders, legislators, parliamentarians and functionaries from all over the country will spend a couple of days in different parts of the state to interact with the people.

The BJP had organised a similar event last year in an attempt to strengthen its presence in the state hinterland.

“The event of our leaders staying in the rural areas of Bihar was to be held in November–December last year but did not materialise.

“We are trying to organise it in February–March this year. We are just waiting for Shah’s nod for the dates to start the preparations,” a senior BJP leader told The Telegraph on the condition of anonymity.

With the Lok Sabha elections just over a year ahead, the BJP is showing urgency with regard to Bihar, especially after chief minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal United (JDU) quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in August last year to join hands with the Grand Alliance.

Though Nitish’s somersault threw the BJP out of power, its main concern is the 2024 general elections. The NDA had swept away 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar, of which the BJP got 17, JDU won 16 and the then Lok Janshakti Party grabbed six in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

With Nitish joining the Opposition, a repeat of the 2019 performance seems difficult for the NDA. It has left the BJP jittery about the 2024 prospects.

Moreover, with regional parties and Opposition parties staying strong in Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and a couple of other states, the BJP is going to make all-out efforts to win as many seats as possible in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to offset reversals in other states.

“Undoubtedly our party’s focus is on Bihar. The politics and political trends arising out of this state affect the entire country.

“Though Nitish is no longer with us, the people of Bihar are affectionate towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He (Modi) has asked our leaders to pay special attention to Bihar,” BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel told this newspaper.

Asked about the discussions in the political circles about the possibility of Nitish coming back to the NDA’s fold, Patel said: “Our party’s priority is nation-building. Every leader, from any political party, shall be welcome if he wishes to participate in it.”

Mega guardians’ meet at KISS

Bhubaneswar: The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) organised a mega guardians’ meet here on Sunday, which was attended by 60,000 parents, 30,000 students along with proud alumni.

“We started KISS with only 125 tribal students from Mayurbhanj district in 1992- 93. Today 30,000 students have passed out. Each of the students passing out from here is inspiring the entire village to seek education,” said AchyutaSamanta, KISS founder.

SUBHASHISH MOHANTY