BJP to Pitch Yogi Adityanath Against Mahagathbandhan in Bihar

Patna: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership has decided to send Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath to Bihar to propagate three years of achievements of Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

State BJP president Nityanand Rai confirmed Yogi’s itinerary in a press conference here on Saturday. Along with Adityanath, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya will also visit various places in Bihar.

Yogi Adityanath will hold two back-to-back rallies. He will arrive on June 15 in Patna and will go to Darbhanga the same day to address a public meeting.

The UP CM will stay back in the state capital Patna where another rally is planned for June 16. Maurya will concentrate on south Bihar. He is scheduled to address party workers in Gaya on June 10.

The BJP state unit is also organising a ‘Modi Fest’ in 15 districts to project achievements of the union government but Yogi’s visit is expected to energise the rank and file of the party, which is trying to increase its base after the debacle in the last Assembly elections.

Insiders within the BJP feel that thumping electoral victory in the neighboring state of UP has had a positive impact in Bihar as well and bringing in Yogi and company here will prove as a catalyst.

Many party leaders said that Adityanath’s clean image was an advantage to them and his rallies were bound to create flutter in the ruling Mahagathbandhan.

The biggest coalition partner, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), is facing tough times as its leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family are facing several corruption charges. It has dented the persona of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is called ‘Sushashan Babu’ by his party men.

UP minister Swati Singh is already on a whirlwind tour of Bihar. Nityanand Rai informed that many union ministers would also accompany Yogi during his visit.

Earlier, RJD had strongly condemned reports of Yogi’s visit in the state, saying it was a ploy to damage the secular fabric of the state. Party leader Jaleel Mastan had accused the BJP of trying to polarise people on communal lines.