Celebrating Emperor Ashoka's birth anniversary, Shah reaches out to Kushwahas

By Deepika Rathour
New Delhi, 2 April 2 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is focusing on a 'unique' social equation to defeat the grand alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Janata Dal United (JDU) in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Lalu Prasad's RJD may be the strongest party in the ruling Grand Alliance in Bihar, but the BJP believes that its path to victory depends on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar making a dent in JDU's support base. The JDU has long enjoyed widespread support from non-Yadav backward castes and Dalit communities.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will participate in various programmes organised in Bihar on the birth anniversary of Maurya ruler Ashoka today. This will be his fourth visit to Bihar in last seven months. The programmes scheduled by Shah during this period are being seen as a major part of the BJP's ambitious strategy to help the Kushwaha (Koiri) community, which is populationally strong in Bihar. The Kushwaha community believes that Emperor Ashoka is related to it.

The share of the Kushwaha community in Bihar's population is estimated to be close to seven to eight per cent, which is the highest after the Yadav community. The Kushwaha community has traditionally supported Nitish in elections.

By appointing Samrat Chaudhary belonging to the Kushwaha community as its state president, the BJP has expressed its intention to make every possible effort to woo the people of this community.

The backward castes in Bihar have traditionally been inclined towards 'Mandal' parties with socialist ideology. BJP is trying hard to change this trend in the upcoming elections. Like in 2014, in 2024 too, the BJP is likely to contest elections mainly on its own in alliance with smaller parties in Bihar.

However, unlike in 2014, it is expected to contest elections with RJD and JDU in 2024. Left parties and Congress are also likely to be part of their alliance.

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