Patna: In Bihar, BJP’s national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh has taken direct charge of the campaign—and is running it with the steadiness of a headmaster determined to keep every student focused before the final exam.
For over a week, Santosh has been travelling across Bihar—Patna, Arrah, Muzaffarpur and Chapra—holding marathon meetings that stretch eight to nine hours a day. He is taking feedback from senior leaders who have come from other states to monitor candidates, reviewing ground performance and suggesting corrections wherever required.
“He’s not sitting in Patna,” a senior party functionary said. “He’s on the move—checking, listening, correcting. Every evening, his table has feedback from across the state.”
His approach has left little room for pause. One Delhi-based MP who mentioned he wanted to go home for Chhath was told by Santosh, “Go if you must, but don’t come back.” That remark, now repeated across Patna’s political circles, sums up the spirit of the campaign—total focus, no distractions.
Party insiders said that while several BJP ministers had gone home during Diwali, Santosh has now directed that all candidates remain in their constituencies through the campaign. The same applies to leaders from outside Bihar—including those from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh—who have been asked to stay back and oversee coordination.
The first phase of polling is on 6 November, the second on 11 November.
The logistics tell their own story. Nearly a thousand cabs have been booked by BJP for internal movement, pushing daily rates to around Rs 4,500. Patna’s top hotels—the Maurya, Chanakya and the Taj—are fully occupied by BJP teams and campaign staff. Each day’s review ends with a list of specific tasks—outreach targets, local coordination, message adjustments. Santosh, long regarded as one of the party’s most detail-oriented organisers, has brought his trademark precision to Bihar, ensuring every constituency runs to schedule. Inside the BJP, the shift is visible. Leaders acknowledge that the close monitoring has added intensity to the campaign and minimised drift.
While the BJP treats every election as significant, this one carries special weight. It is the first time the party is contesting Bihar with the clear intent of having its own chief minister, marking a quiet but decisive transition from the two-decade-long Nitish Kumar era. A setback here would carry implications beyond the state—Bihar sits at the heart of the Hindi belt, a region that often sets the tone for national politics.
For now, Bihar’s BJP unit is working to Santosh’s clock—long meetings, constant feedback, and zero complacency. His “headmaster” style, firm yet methodical, has given the campaign its structure and urgency. As one senior leader put it, “This is not a casual campaign. He wants every candidate to treat it like an exam they must pass.”
