The Hindu : National : BJP discusses Bihar strategy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 17, 2004

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National

BJP discusses Bihar strategy

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 16. The Bharatiya Janata Party is planning to woo the voter in Bihar in Assembly elections due early next year by unfolding a new vision of a modern and developed Bihar by the year 2020.

The party is hoping to fight the elections on this and its other platform, nationalism, as defined by it and the Sangh Parivar.

Today at the residence of the BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, the central leadership held a meeting with about 25 State-level leaders summoned here for the occasion. The Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, and the general secretaries, Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitley, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Sanjay Joshi, attended the meeting as well as the party's MPs from Bihar, and some former MPs.

Speaking to reporters later, Mr. Naidu announced that the party would fight the elections with its alliance partner, the Janata Dal (United).

So far, the party had not tied up with any other political group in the State, he said. As for projecting a chief ministerial candidate, no decision had been taken.

Over the next six months, the party will organise booth-level political meetings, district-level workers' conferences, and State-level rallies and meetings.

Its major plank would be the "vision'' of a new Bihar that would be modern and developed offering a contrast to what the Rashtriya Janata Dal Government has delivered to the people by way of governance, Mr. Naidu said.

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