BJP national general secretary Ananth Kumar on Friday “invited” Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to campaign for the party in Bihar in the coming Assembly elections.
Mr. Kumar, in-charge of party affairs in Bihar, who specially attended the first meeting of the reconstituted Gujarat BJP executive committee here, said he had come at the instance of national president Nitin Gandkari, to “invite” Mr. Modi to campaign in Bihar. “Mr. Modi is our national leader and we want him to campaign in Bihar and in other States,” he said amidst thunderous cheers.
Mr. Kumar said the party was eyeing to capture power at the Centre in the 2014 parliamentary elections and before that it was keen on reaching out in different States. He indicated that the party held Mr. Modi a trump card to win elections in various States.
“I feel from the bottom of my heart, whether it is Bangalore, Banaras or Ballia or Bihar, we invite him to come to campaign. Modiji, please come to Bihar and campaign for the party and hold the BJP flag in Bihar high,” Mr Ananth Kumar said.
His assertions indicate that the BJP would go it alone in Bihar if the Janata Dal(United) and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continued to insist on keeping Mr. Modi out of the campaign in the State.
The recent spat over Mr. Modi's visit to Bihar, the issuance of an advertisement showing Mr. Modi with his Bihar counterpart and Mr. Nitish Kumar returning the Rs. 5-crore assistance given by Gujarat for the flood-affected in 2008 caused a dent in the relations between the alliance partners.
The meeting was attended by Mr. Modi, national vice-president Purshottam Rupala and another senior leader M. Satish.
“CBI being misused”
Mr. Ananth Kumar reiterated the State BJP's allegation that the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre was misusing the CBI in Gujarat and other non-Congress States. It “is not the Central Bureau of Investigation but the Congress Bureau of Investigation.”
Referring to the July 5 Bharat bandh on the fuel price issue, State BJP spokesman I. K. Jadeja said that in Gujarat the protest would be observed also against CBI harassment and price rise in general.
Mr. Modi congratulated party workers on enrolling more than 25 lakh members in the State.
