BJP national president Amit Shah, on his maiden visit to Bihar, had a taste of rural Bihar delicacies.

Shah, who had lunch at the house of octogenarian BJP leader C.P. Thakur, tasted Basmati rice, chapatis, arhar dal (lentils), vegetables comprising sprouted grams, spinach and other seasonal vegetables.

Being a Gujarati, Shah loves Gujarati cuisine and the Thakur family had taken extra care of that by specially preparing kadhi.

Interestingly, the kadhi and khichdi is also a favourite delicacy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The desserts to follow comprised gajar ka halwa and other sweets.

Shah, after attending the Karpoori Jayanti at the Veterinary College ground, where he attacked Nitish and Lalu, reached Thakur's Fraser Road residence around 3.15pm in a white bullet-proof Ambassador along with senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi and BJP state unit president Mangal Pandey.

A senior party leader, preferring anonymity, said: 'As Shah is a Jain, he loves pure vegetarian food, which the Thakur family had kept in mind.

The BJP national president loved the delicacies served, especially the sprouted gram vegetables and arhar dal, which is much popular in Bihar.

After having lunch at Thakur's residence, Shah dashed off to Gandhi Maidan, where he offered floral tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's statue on his birth anniversary.

Thereafter, he reached SK Memorial Hall to attend the BJP meeting on membership drive.

The BJP national president donned the role of a guardian at the hall. Several BJP members could not gain entry to the hall, packed to its capacity, and were forced to wait outside.

Shah asked senior BJP leaders such as minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) Giriraj Singh, BJP MLC Suraj Nandan Mehta and others sitting on the dais to make arrangements in the hall for the members outside.

Shah then asked the people standing in the hall to sit on the stairs.

Infusing energy into the party workers, Shah said enrolling new members was important for everyone - right from Sushil Kumar Modi to the ordinary party worker at the panchayat-level.

Shah categorically said: 'I assure you that the party ticket for contesting in any election would be given to only those BJP members who enrol 100 members. The rule is applicable to all - right from Sushil Modi to ordinary party workers.' The audience welcomed Shah's assertion with a thunderous applause.

The BJP national president added that if the party successfully enrols 10 crore members across the country, it would not only become the world's largest political party surpassing the Chinese Communist Party but would also be in a position to rule the country for the next 50 years.

Lending importance to the membership drive, Shah said: 'From 1947 to 1967, the Congress was the country's largest party, winning elections from the Parliament to the village panchayat level, as they were actively involved in membership drive by accepting 25 paise. But after 1967, the Congress membership slowed down and so the decline of the party began.'

During his 30-minute speech, Shah said: 'The party has enrolled 1 crore members in Uttar Pradesh. The workers in Bihar are equally efficient and would cross 75 lakh members. Only then would it be possible for the party to achieve the target of 185 seats in the year-end Assembly elections.'