Bihar BJP unit to hold mega NRI meet in October

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the star attraction of the event.

New Delhi: With Bihar going for Assembly elections next year, the state BJP unit has started galvanising its cadre and extending its support base well in advance. The unit is planning to hold a mega NRI meet in October end. The meet will connect those NRIs who have roots in Bihar.

Interestingly, the event is being planned solely by the Bihar unit of Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) and the NDA government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, of which the party is a part, is not at all involved. Of late, relationship between alliance partners BJP and Janata Dal United (JDU) have started souring and there is immense pressure from the state units to go alone in the Assembly elections. According to a source, the tentative dates for the mega event have been fixed at 30-31 October, as of now. “However, there may be little shifting of the dates because of the Chhath festival celebrations. A final decision regarding the dates will be taken next week,” the source said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the star attraction of the event. As per the plan, about 500 NRIs of Bihar diaspora, settled in about 40 countries, are likely to be invited for the meet, which aims at connecting them to the BJP. “They are quite influential in their own way. We would love them to come closer to the BJP which will be good for the state in the long run,” the source added. The BJP had taken help of the NRIs during the recently concluded elections in Bihar as well. Their help in campaigning came as great help and the NDA won 39 out of 40 seats. The party now wants their active involvement for the next year’s Assembly elections by wooing them to its fold. The source said many NRI summits were organised in the past by the government, but they failed to make any positive impact for the state. “Their idea of bringing in investments also failed miserably. Our aim is to bring the entire Bihar diaspora under one roof for the overall well-being of the state,” he said. The organisers are not only inviting the NRIs, but also those Biharis who have left the state to settle in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata etc for livelihood and better career. NRIs, who have roots in Jharkhand, will also be invited, as according to the organisers, people of Jharkhand still feel to be a part of the united Bihar emotionally when they outside.

“They may be separated by the state boundary, but people of Jharkhand are still attached to Bihar. When they are in other states or countries, people of Bihar and Jharkhand are like the extended family members,” the source said. Jharkhand, this is to be noted, was carved out of Bihar in 2000.