Ahmedabad, November 05: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s absence from campaigning for the Bihar Assembly elections has come as a blessing in disguise for Shahnawaz Hussain and Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
For a change, these BJP leaders have got an opportunity to canvass extensively in the polls. In fact, they have addressed as many as 30 rallies in the constituencies where the BJP’s senior partner, the JD(U), is contesting. So far, the BJP has held only about 56 rallies in the JD(U) consituencies, and only four of these rallies have been organised by the senior BJP leaders till the fourth phase.
The other Modi, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, has campaigned in 22 Assembly segments being contested by the JD(U).
“BJP leaders have campaigned for JD(U) candidates in as many as 56 Assembly segments. Of this, while Sushil Modi has represented the BJP in 22 JD(U) Assembly segments, national party leaders canvassed in four of the JD(U) constituencies,” said Hussain.
The BJP has provided a helicopter to ferry both Rudy and Hussain across the state during the electioneering.
What seems to have gone in their favour is the visibility factor of the two leaders as they are party spokespersons.
Moreover, the JD(U)’s most prominent upper-caste Thakur leader Prabhunath Singh’s parting of company appears to have added to Rudy’s appeal. So much so that he is being sought by the JD(U) too. Since Hussain is the lone Muslim face from the state visible in the national media, the BJP has deployed him in the areas with substantial presence of minorities.
As for the JD(U), its leaders, mostly represented by party president Sharad Yadav and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, have campaigned in only 45 of the BJP Assembly segments until now.
——–Agencies