The Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on
Saturday set a target of winning at least three quarters of total seats for the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming Bihar assembly polls.
A two-day state executive committee meeting was organised on Saturday ahead of the October-November elections.
Prominent members, including BJP national general
secretary Bhupendra Yadav, were present for the meeting, as reported by PTI. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also joined the meeting virtually.
Meanwhile, BJP national president JP Nadda will give his valedictory
speech tomorrow.
State party president
Sanjay Jaiswal appealed to over 76 lakh party workers in the state to
ensure that the coalition achieves its target.
“We have set a target of winning three-fourth
seats for NDA in Bihar. We will ensure that the coalition achieves the mark,” said Jaiswal.
The NDA coalition in Bihar comprises the BJP, the
Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) led by Ram
Vilas Paswan.
The meeting was conducted with stringent safety regulations and social distancing protocols in place due to the
raging coronavirus pandemic. Only a select few leaders, including Jaiswal,
Yadav and state ministers like Nand Kishore Yadav and Prem Kumar, were sitting on the
dais in the party’s state headquarters.
In July, over two dozen
leaders and workers tested positive for the coronavirus at the state
headquarters as they conducted and participated in regional meetings as
part of election preparations.
The executive committee of the BJP’s Bihar unit was formed on March 20, although it could not organise a meeting so far due to the nationwide lockdown.
During the meet, Jaiswal also hailed key decisions of the Narendra
Modi-led government like abolition of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir,
quashing triple talaq for Muslim women, providing citizenship to non-Muslim minorities
from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and paving the way for the
construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
He further praised party workers for providing
food and other essential supplies to poor and migrant labourers during the
lockdown.
Elections in the state are slated to be held
in October-November with the Election Commission indicating they would be held
on time, despite concerns of further spread of the coronavirus from opposition
parties and NDA partner LJP.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis, who is the election in-charge
for Bihar, urged party workers and leaders to ensure that the people benefit
from the development projects of both the state and the union governments.
“We need to tell people about various works
done by both governments- be it Atmanirbhar economic package, Garib Kalyan
Yojana or the work done by the state government- as people forget them easily,”
he said.
He further condemned the 15 year-rule of the
Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal, saying it pushed Bihar 25-30 years into
backwardness.
“People need to be reminded about the time
when the state witnessed rampant corruption and nepotism and was ruined
economically,” Fadnavis said.