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BJP meeting in Patna City today to defend turf
BJP Meeting In Patna City Today To Defend Turf. The state BJP leaders, presently busy organizing district-level rallies for the party's Hoonkar rally here on October 27, appear to have been caught off guard, as the JD (U) has started actively poaching on the BJP's traditional support base comprising business and traders' communities settled largely in major cities and towns of Bihar, including Patna.
PATNA: The state BJP leaders, presently busy organizing district-level rallies for the party's Hoonkar rally here on October 27, appear to have been caught off guard, as the JD (U) has started actively poaching on the BJP's traditional support base comprising business and traders' communities settled largely in major cities and towns of Bihar, including Patna.
This has forced the BJP to hold a public meeting of the Patna City-based traders on the campus of Ramdeo Mahto Stadium on Sunday. The state BJP brass, including deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and leader of opposition in state assembly Nand Kishore Yadav, would address it. Incidentally, Yadav represents the Patna Saheb assembly seat, which is considered a citadel of its supporting traders in the state.
BJP MLC and co-in charge of the party in UP, Satyendra Kushwaha said, "Hundreds of potato and onion dealers would also participate in the meet to reiterate their loyalty to the party. The poaching by JD (U) will not impact our support base among traders."
State BJP sources said the party leadership has been unnerved, since the "well-known old faces" of the BJP in Patna City - Ishwar Agrawal and Anant Arora - have switched loyalty to the JD (U).
The other prominent Patna City-based traders who have crossed over to the JD (U) camp are O P Sah, Amar Kumar Agrawal, Gobind Kanodia from RJD and Santosh Mehta.
"Yes, it is true that the state BJP has become hyper anxious, because business people and traders are joining the JD (U). Their anxiety particularly increased after Ishwar Agrawal and Anant Arora joined our party," said state JD (U) spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar. "We are in the process of expanding our organizational base, including among traders and in urban areas," he added.
Asked if the JD (U) would field its candidates from Patna Saheb parliamentary seat and also from the four assembly seats in Patna and Patna City, Kumar said, "Definitely, why not? We will certainly field our candidates from the seats that cover urban areas."
Interestingly, there was tough bargaining between the JD (U) and the BJP for the Digha assembly seat in Patna during the seat sharing talks for the 2010 assembly elections, even when the two parties constituted the NDA. When the BJP ceded the seat to the JD (U), it led to a lot of heartburn in the BJP rank and file.
At present, the BJP represents Patna Saheb, Kumhrar and Bankipore seats in the state assembly, while the JD (U) holds the Digha assembly seat. What, however, is more interesting is that the BJP represents most of the assembly seats that cover major towns, including Gaya, Bhagalpur, Purnia, Katihar, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Chhapra and Muzaffarpur. The JD (U) is trying to strengthen its base in these towns.
