Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday gave a pep talk to BJP workers drawn from districts of Bihar's Seemanchal region, less than two months after political upheaval in the state robbed the party of power.
Shah, regarded as the party's principal strategist, addressed BJP workers in Kishanganj, the state's only Muslim-majority district where he had been putting up since Friday evening.
BJP national general secretary in charge of the state Vinod Tawade shared information about the meeting with workers from four districts of Purnea Division, the official name for Seemanchal.
"The home minister said it was in the national interest that the BJP remains strong in the four districts of Purnea, Kishanganj, Araria, and Katihar,” tweeted Tawade.
All four districts have a sizeable Muslim population, and it has for long been the BJP's claim that this was largely due to the illegal entry of Bangladeshi immigrants and the Rohingyas from Myanmar.
Tawade also said Shah gave a patient hearing to party workers' grievances with regard to local development works and assured them of early resolution.
The home minister, who offered prayers at a local temple and attended a function of Sashastra Seema Bal earlier in the day, winded up his nearly 30-hour tour of Bihar in the evening after addressing a cultural program held at Mata Gujri University, as part of ‘Amrit Mahotsav’, marking 75 years of Independence.
Meanwhile, leaders of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) launched a vitriolic attack on Shah for having told a rally in Purnea on the previous day that the town now had an airport.
JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan and parliamentary board chief Upendra Kushwaha came out with video statements, accusing Shah of having lied before the people and "having the temerity to ask the crowds to applause".
BJP leaders said on condition of anonymity that Shah had the Darbhanga airport in mind but got things mixed.
(Inputs from PTI)
