Patna, April 13: The Bihar BJP has decided to make the upcoming visit of party national president Amit Shah to Bihar a grand affair.

Party leaders and workers would be part of the team that would accompany Shah in his journey from Patna to Motihari by road, a distance of around 165km, on April 19.

This would be Shah's first visit to Bihar after the saffron party scripted a spectacular performance in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh in the recently held Assembly elections.

"The cavalcade that would accompany our national president is likely to be 10-km long and on his way, Shah would be felicitated at different places in Vaishali and Muzaffarpur. A special welcome would be accorded to him at Mehsi in East Champaran when his cavalcade would enter the district," a BJP leader said, adding that Shah was likely to return the same evening (April 19) after coming back from Motihari.

Motihari is the headquarters of East Champaran.

Sharing Shah's itinerary, a BJP functionary said: "He is likely to reach Patna on April 18 evening and would start for Motihari the next morning."

Sources in the BJP said Shah would take part in the concluding event of an agriculture fair that would be organised on the premises of a zila school in Motihari.

The five-day fair would start on April 15 and a host of stalls sharing the details of various welfare programmes launched by the Union government for the welfare of farmers would be showcased in the fair.

The BJP is also aiming to use Shah's visit to increase party's influence in the rural areas by focusing on farmers.

"At a time when chief minister Nitish Kumar is feeling the heat of running a government with RJD in tow, particularly after it came to light that two of his cabinet colleagues who are sons of RJD chief Lalu Prasad are directors in companies which have huge immovable assets, we have decided to reach out to the masses through our various events to widen the base of the party in the state," a senior BJP leader said.

'Nalanda crime den'

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan on Thursday said Nalanda, the home district of Nitish, has become a den of bootleggers and those involved in illegal sand mining. Ranjan issued a press statement claiming bootleggers were visible at almost every nook and corner of the district and some of them were also delivering liquor at home for those willing to drink.

On sand mafia, the BJP spokesperson said illegal sand mining was being done at almost all river banks and around 500 trucks of illegally mined sand was being sent to different places from the district.

He dared the Nitish Kumar government to get his allegations inquired by the CBI.